/  J.-^  ,   l-'h  .  ^  ^ 


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PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


\ 


Presented   by'~^(2x\i  ,  (3^  V^^rxVA  r^  Vo  V-V^ 


Division 


Section 


CALL 

TO 

THE  UNCONVERTED; 

TO  WHICH  ARE  ADDED, 

SEVERAL  VALUABLE  ESSAYS. 
y 

AA , 

BY  RICHARD  BAXTER. 

WITH 

AN  INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY, 

BY  THOMAS  CHALMERS,  D.  D. 
FROM  THE  LAST  LONDON  EDITIOIT, 


Weto*Yorlt : 
ROBERT   CARTER 

58  Canal  S  t.reet. 
1840. 


INTRODUCTORY  ESSAY. 


Having  already  introduced  to  the  notice  of  our  readers 
one  of  Richard  Baxter's  most  valuable  Treatises,*  in  the 
Essay  to  which,  we  adverted  to  the  character  and  writings 
of  this  venerable  author,  we  count  it  unnecessary  at  present 
to  make  any  allusion  to  them,  but  shall  confine  our  remarks 
to  the  subject  of  the  three  Treatises  which  compose  the  pre- 
sent volume,  namely,  "  A  Call  to  the  Unconverted  to 
TURN  AND  LIVE  ;"  "  Now  OR  Never  ;"  and  "  Fifty  Reasons 

WHY    A  sinner  ought  TO    TURN  TO  GoD  THIS    DAT  WITHOUT 
DELAY." 

These  Treatises  are  characterized  by  all  that  solemn 
earnestness,  and  urgency  of  appeal,  for  which  the  writings 
of  this  much  admired  author  are  so  pecviliarly  distinguished. 
He  seems  to  look  upon  mankind  solely  with  the  eyes  of  the 
Spjirit,  and  exclusively  to  recognise  them  in  their  spiritual 
relations,  and  in  the  great  and  essential  elements  of  their 
inamortal  being.  Their  future  destiny  is  the  all-important 
concern  which  fills  and  engrosses  his  mind,  and  he  regards 
nothing  of  any  magnitude  but  what  has  a  distinct  bearing 
on  their  spiritual  and  eternal  condition.  His  business, 
therefore,  is  always  with  the  conscience,  to  which,  in  these 
Treatises,  he  makes  the  most  forcible  appeals,  and  which 
he  phes  with  all  those  arguments  which  are  fitted  to  awaken 
the  sinner  to  a  deep  sense  of  the  necessity  and  importance 
of  immediate  repentance.  In  his  "  Call  to  the  Unconverted," 
he  endeavours  to  move  them  by  the  most  touching  of  all 
representations,  the  tenderness  of  a  beseeching  God  waiting 
to  be  gracious,  and  not  willing  that  any  should  perish ;  and 
while  he  employs  every  form  of  enti'eaty,  which  tenderness 
and  compassion  can  suggest,  to  allure  the  sinner  to  "turn 
and  live,"  he  does  not  shrink  from  forcing  on  his  convictions 
those  considerations  which  are  fitted  to  alarm  his  fears,  the 
terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  the  wrath,  not  merely  of  an  offended 
Lawgiver,  but  of  a  God  of  love,  whose  threatenings  he  dis- 
regards, whose  grace  he  despises,  and  whose  mercy  he 
rejects.    And  aware  of  the  deceitfulness  of  sin  in  hardening 

*  The  Saint's  Everlasting  Rest,  with  an  Essay  by  Mr.  Erskine. 


IV 

the  heart,  and  in  betraying  the  sinner  into  a  negkct  of  his 
spiritual  interests,  he  divests  him  of  every  refuge,  and  strips 
hun  of  every  plea  for  postponing  his  preparation  for  eternity. 
He  forcibly  exposes  the  delusion  of  convenient  seasons,  and 
the  awful  infatuation  and  hazard  of  delay;  and  knowing 
the  magnitude  of  the  stake  at  issue,  he  urges  the  sinner  to 
immediate. repentance,  as  if  the  fearful  and  almost  absolute 
alternative  were  "Now  or  Never."  And  to  secure  the 
commenceinent  of  such  an  important  work  against  all  the 
dangers  to  which  procrastination  might  expose  it,  he  endeav- 
ours to  arrest  the  sinner  in  his  career  of  guilt  and  unconcern, 
and  resolutely  to  fix  his  determination  on  *'  turnmg  to  God 
this  day  without  delay." 

There  are  two  very  prevalent  delusions  on  this  subject, 
which  we  should  like  to  expose ;  the  one  regards  the  nature, 
and  the  other  the  season  of  repentance  ;  both  of  which  are 
pregnant  with  mischief  to  the  minds  of  men.  With  regard  to 
the  first,  much  mischief  has  arisen  from  mistakes  respecting 
the  meaning  of  the  term  repentance.  The  word  repentance 
occui'S  with  two  different  meanings  in  the  New  Testament  j 
and  it  is  to  be  regretted,  that  two  different  words  could  not 
have  been  devised  to  express  these.  This  is  chargeable 
upon  the  poverty  of  our  language ;  for  it  is  to  be  observed, 
that  in  the  original  Greek  the  distinction  in  the  meanings  is 
pointed  out  by  a  distinction  in  the  words.  The  employ- 
ment of  one  term  to  denote  two  different  things  has  the  effect 
of  confounding  and  misleading  the  understanding  ;  and  iti» 
much  to  be  wished,  that  every  ambiguity  of  this  kind  were 
cleared  away  from  that  most  interesting  point  in  the  process 
of  a  human  soul,  at  which  it  turns  from  sin  unto  righteous- 
ness, and  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God. 

When,  in  common  language,  a  man  says,  "I  repent  of 
such  an  action,"  he  is  understood  to  say,  "  I  am  sorry  for 
having  done  it."  The  feeling  is  familiar  to  all  of  us.  How 
often  does  the  man  of  dissipation  prove  this  sense  of  the  word 
repentance,  when  he  awakes  in  the  morning,  and,  oppressed 
by  the  languor  of  his  exhausted  faculties,  looks  back  with 
remorse  on  the  follies  and  profligacies  of  the  night  that  is 
past?  How  often  does  the  man  of  unguarded  conversation 
prove  it,  when  he  thinks  of  the  friend  whose  feelings  he  has 
wounded  by  some  hasty  utterance  which  he  cannot  recall  ? 
How  often  is  it  proved  by  the  man  of  business,  when  he 
reflects  on  the  rash  engagement  which  ties  him  down  to  a 
losing  speculation?  All  these  people  would  be  perfectly 
understood  when  they  say,  "  We  repent  of  these  doings." 
The  word  repentance  so  applied  is  about  equivalent  to  the 


\vt)rd  regret.  There  are  several  passages  in  the  New  Tes- 1 
lament  where  this  is  the  undoubted  sense  of  the  word' 
repentance.  In  Matt,  xxvii.  3.  the  wretched  Judas  repented 
himself  of  his  treachery  ;  and  surely,  when  we  think  of  the' 
awful  denunciation  uttered  by  our  Saviour  against  the  man 
who  should  betray  him,  that  it  were  better  for  him  if  he  had 
not  been  born,  we  will  never  confound  the  repentance  whicli 
Judas  experienced  with  that  repentance  which  is  unto 
salvation. 

Now  here  lies  the  danger  to  practical  Christianity.  In 
the  above  cited  passage,  to  repent  is  just  to  regret,  or  to  be 
sorry  for  ;  and  this  we  conceive  to  be  by  far  the  most  pre- 
vailing sense  of  the  term  in  the  English  language.  But 
there  are  other  places  where  the  same  term  is  employed  to 
denote  that  which  is  urged  upon  us  as  a  duty — that  which  is 
preached  for  the  remission  of  sins — that  which  is  so  indis- 
pensable to  sinners,  as  to  call  forth  the  declaration  from  our 
Sa^riour,  that  unless  we  have  it,  we  shall  all  likewise  perish. 
Now,  though  repentance,  in  all  these  cases,  is  expressed  by 
the  same  term  in  our  translation  as  the  repentance  of  mere 
regret,  it  is  expressed  by  a  different  term  in  the  original 
record  of  our  faith.  This  surely  might  lead  us  to  suspect  a 
difference  of  meaning,  and  should  caution  us  against  taking 
up  with  that,  as  sufficient  for  the  business  of  our  salvation, 
which  is  short  of  saving  and  scriptural  repentance.  There 
may  be  an  alternation  of  wilful  sin,  and  of  deep-felt  sorrow, 
up  to  the  very  end  of  our  history — there  may  be  a  presump- 
tuous sin  committed  every  day,  and  a  sorrow  regularly 
succeeding  it.  Sorrow  may  imbitter  every  act  of  sin — soitow 
may  darken  every  interval  of  sinful  indulgence — and  sorrow 
may  give  an  unutterable  anguish  to  the  pains  and  the  pros- 
pects of  a  deathbed.  Couple  all  this  with  the  circumstance 
that  sorrow  passes,  in  the  common  currency  of  our  language, 
for  repentance,  and  that  repentance  is  made,  by  our  Bible, 
to  lie  at  the  turning  point  from  a  state  of  condemnation  to  a 
state  of  acceptance  with  God  ;  and  it  is  difficult  not  to  con- 
ceive that  much  danger  may  have  arisen  from  this,  leading 
to  indistinct  views  of  the  nature  of  repentance,  and  to  slender 
and  superficial  conceptions  of  the  mighty  change  which  is 
implied  in  it. 

We  are  far  from  saying  that  the  eye  of  Christians  is  not 
open  to  this  danger — and  that  the  vigilant  care  of  Christian 
authors  has  not  been  employed  in  averting  it.  Where  will 
we  get  a  better  definition  of  repentance  unto  life  than  in  our 
Shorter  Catechism  ?  by  which  the  sinner  is  represented  not 
merely  as  grieving,  but,  along  with  his  grief  and  hatred  of 

1* 


VI 

sin,  as  turning  from  it  unto  God  with  ftill  purpose  of,  and 
endeavour  after  new  obedience.  But  the  mischief  is,  that  the 
word  repent  has  a  common  meaning,  dilFerent  from  the 
theological ;  that  wherever  it  is  used,  this  common  meaning 
is  apt  to  intrude  itself,  and  exert  a  kind  of  habitual  imposi- 
tion upon  the  understanding — that  the  influence  of  the  single 
word  carries  it  over  the  influence  of  the  lengthened  explana- 
tion— and  thus  it  is  that,  for  a  steady  progress  in  the  obedi- 
ence of  the  gospel,  many  persevere,  to  the  end  of  their  days, 
in  a  wretched  course  of  sinning  and  of  sorrowing,  without 
fruit  and  without  amendment. 

To  save  the  practically  mischievous  effect  arising  from 
the  appUcation  of  one  term  to  two  different  things,  one  dis- 
tinct and  appropriate  term  has  been  suggested  for  the  saving 
repentance  of  the  New  Testament.  The  tenii  repentance 
itself  has  been  restricted  to  the  repentance  of  mere  sorrow, 
and  is  made  equivalent  to  regret ;  and  for  the  other,  able 
translators  have  adopted  the  word  reformation.  The  one 
is  expressive  of  sorrow  for  our  past  conduct ;  the  other  is 
expressive  of  our  renouncing  it.  It  denotes  an  actual  turn- 
ing from  the  habits  of  life  that  we  are  sorry  for.  Give  us, 
say  they,  a  change  from  bad  deeds  to  good  deeds,  from  bad 
habits  to  good  habits,  from  a  life  of  wickedness  to  a  life  of 
conformity  to  the  requirements  of  heaven,  and  you  give  us 
reformation. 

Now  there  is  often  nothing  more  unprofitable  than  a  dis- 
pute about  words  ;  but  if  a  word  has  got  into  common  use, 
a  common  and  generally  understood  meaning  is  attached  to 
it ;  and  if  this  meaning  does  not  just  come  up  to  the  thing 
which  we  want  to  express  by  it,  the  application  of  that  word 
to  that  thing  has  the  same  misleading  effects  as  in  the  case 
already  alluded  to.  Now,  we  have  much  the  same  kind  of 
exception  to  allege  against  the  term  reformation,  that  we 
have  alleged  against  the  term  repentance.  The  term  re- 
pentance is  inadequate — and  why  ?  because,  in  the  common 
use  of  it,  it  is  equivalent  to  regret,  and  regret  is  short  of  the 
saving  change  that  is  spoken  of  in  the  New  Testament.  On 
the  very  same  principle,  we  count  the  temi  reformation  to 
\  be  inadequate.  We  think  that,  in  common  language,  a  man 
i  would  receive  the  appellation  of  a  reformed  man  upon  the 
I  mere  change  of  his  outward  habits,  without  any  reference  to 
j  the  change  of  mind  and  of  principle  which  gave  rise  to  it.  Let 
the  drunkard  give  up  his  excesses — let  the  backbiter  give  up 
his  evil  speakings — let  the  extortioner  give  up  his  unfair 
charges — and  we  would  apply  to  one  and  all  of  them,  upon 
the  mere  change  of  their  external  doings,  \}\e  character  ot 


va 


refonned  men.  Now,  it  is  evident  that  the  drunkard  may 
give  up  his  drunkenness,  because  checked  by  a  serious  im- 
pression of  the  injury  he  has  been  doing  to  his  health  and 
il\is  circumstances.  The  backbiter  may  give  up  his  evil 
spaking,  on  being  made  to  perceive  that  the  liateful  prac- 
tice has  brought  upon  him  the  contempt  and  alienation  of 
his  neighbours.  The  extortioner  may  give  up  his  unfair 
charges,  upon  taking  it  into  calculation  that  his  business  is 
likely  to  suffer  by  the  desertion  of  his  customers.  Now,  if. 
is  evident,  that  though  in  each  of  these  cases  there  has  be'en 
what  the  world  would  call  reformation,  there  has  not  been 
scriptural  repentance.  The  deficiency  of  this  term  consists 
an  its  having  been  employed  to  denote  a  mere  change  inXhe 
•deeds  or  in  the  habits  of  the  outward  man  ;  and  if  employed 
as  equivalent  to  repentance,  it  may  delude  us  into  the  idea 
that  the  change  by  which  we  are  made  meet  for  a  happy 
eternity  is  a  far  more  slender  and  superficial  thing  than  it 
really  is.  It  is  of  little  importance  to  be  told  that  the  trans- 
lator means  it  only  in  the  sense  of  a  reformed  conduct,  pro- 
ceeding from  the  iniluence  of  a  new  and  a  right  principle 
within.  The  common  meaning  of  the  world  will,  as  in  the 
former  instance,  be  ever  and  anon  intruding  itself,  and  get 
the  better  of  all  ihe  formal  cautions,  and  all  the  qualifying 
clauses  of  our  Bible  commentators. 

But,  will  not  the  original  word  itself  throw  some  light  upon 
this  important  question  ?  The  repentance  wliich  is  enjoined 
as  a  duty — the  repentance  which  is  unto  salvation — the  re- 
pentance which  sinners  undergo  when  they  pass  to  a  state 

of  acceptance  with  God  from  a  state  of  enmity  against  him 

these  are  all  one  and  the  same  thing,  and  are  expressed  by 
one  and  the  same  word  in  the  original  language  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  different  from  the  word  which  expresses 
the  repentance  of  sorrow ;  and  if  translated  according  to 
the  parts  of  which  it  is  composed,  it  signifies  neither  more 
nor  less  than  a  change  of  mind.  This  of  itself  is  sufficient  to 
prove  the  inadequacy  of  the  term  reformation — a  term  which 
is  often  applied  to  a  man  upon  the  mere  change  of  his  con^ 
duct,  Avithout  ever  adverting  to  the  state  of  his  mind,  or  to 
the  kind  of  change  in  motive  and  in  principle  which  it  has 
undergone.  It  is  true,  that  there  can  be  no  change  in  the 
conduct  without  some  change  in  the  inward  principle.  A 
reformed  drunkard,  before  careless  about  health  or  fortune, 
may  be  so  far  changed  as  to  become  impressed  with  these 
considerations  ;  but  this  change  is  evidently  short  of  that 
which  the  Bible  calls  repentance  toward  God.  It  is  a  change 
that  may,  and  has  taken  place  in  many  a  mind,  when  there 


v'lii 

TTXis  no  effectual  sense  of  the  God  who  is  above  us,  and  of 
the  eternity  which  is  before  us.  It  is  a  change,  brought  about 
by  the  prospect  and  the  calculation  of  worldly  advantages  ; 
and,  in  the  enjoyment  of  these  advantages,  it  hath  its  sole 
reward.  But  it  is  not  done  unto  God,  and  God  will  not 
accept  of  it  as  done  vmto  him.  Reformation  may  signify 
nothing  more  than  the  mere  surface-dressing  of  those  decen- 
cies, and  proprieties,  and  accomplishments,  and  civil  and 
prudential  duties,  which,  however  fitted  to  secure  a  man's 
acceptance  in  society,  may,  one  and  all  of  them,  consist  with 
a  heart  alienated  from  God,  and  having  every  principle  and 
affection  of  the  inner  man  away  from  him.  True,  it  is  such 
a  change  as  the  man  will  reap  benefit  from,  as  his  friends 
will  rejoice  in,  as  the  world  will  call  reformation  ;  but  it  is 
not  such  a  change  as  will  make  him  meet  for  heaven,  and  is 
deficient  in  its  innport  from  what  our  Saviour  speaks  of  when 
he  says,  "  I  tell  you  nay,  except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  like- 
wise perish." 

There  is  no  single  word  in  the  English  language  which 
occurs  to  us  as  fully  equal  to  the  faithful  rendering  of  the 
term  in  the  original.  Renewedness  of  mind,  however  awk- 
ward a  phrase  this  may  be,  is  perhaps  the  most  nearly  ex- 
pressive of  it.  Certain  it  is,  that  it  harmonizes  with  those 
other  passages  of  the  Bible  where  the  process  is  described 
by  which  saving  repentance  is  brought  about.  We  read  of 
being  transformed  by  the  renewing  of  our  minds,  of  the  re- 
newing of  the  Holy  Ghost,  of  being  renewed  in  the  spirit  of 
our  minds.  Scriptural  repentance,  therefore,  is  that  deep 
and  radical  change  whereby  a  soul  turns  from  the  idols  of 
sin  and  of  self  unto  God,  and  devotes  every  moment  of  the 
inner  and  the  outer  man,  to  the  captivity  of  his  obedience. 
This  is  the  change  which,  whether  it  be  expressed  by  one  word 
or  not  in  the  English  language,  we  would  have  you  well  to 
understand  ;  and  reformation  or  change  in  the  outward  con- 
duct, instead  of  being  saving  and  scriptural  i-epentance,  is 
what,  in  the  language  of  John  the  Baptist,  we  would  call  a 
fruit  meet  for  it.  But  if  mischief  is  likely  to  arise,  from  the 
want  of  an  adequate  word  in  our  language,  to  that  repen- 
tance which  is  unto  salvation,  there  is  one  effectual  preserva- 
tive against  it — a  firm  and  consistent  exhibition  of  the  whole 
counsel  and  revelation  of  God.  A  man  who  is  well  read  in 
his  New  Testament,  and  reads  it  with  docility,  will  dismiss 
all  his  meagre  conceptions  of  repentance,  when  he  comes  to 
the  following  statements  : — "  Except  a  man  be  born  again, 
he  cannot  see  the  kingdom  of  God."  "Except  ye  be  con- 
verted, and  become  as  little  children,  ye  shall  not  enter  into 


IX 

the  kingdom  of  heaven."  "  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit 
of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."  "The  carnal  mind  is  enmity 
against  God  ;  and  if  ye  Hve  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die  ;  but 
if  ye,  through  the  Spirit,  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body, 
ye  shall  live."  "By  the  washing  of  regeneration  ye  are 
saved."  "  Be  not  then  conformed  to  this  world,  but  be  ye 
transformed  by  the  renewing  of  your  minds."  Such  are  the 
terms  employed  to  describe  the  process  by  which  the  soul  of 
man  is  renewed  unto  repentance ;  and,  with  your  hearts 
familiarized  to  the  mighty  import  of  these  terms,  you  will 
carry  with  you  an  effectual  guarantee  against  those  false 
and  flimsy  impressions,  which  are  so  current  in  the  world, 
about  the  preparation  of  a  sinner  for  eternity. 

Another  delusion  which  we  shall  endeavour  to  expose,  is 
a  very  mischievous  appUcation  of  the  parable  of  the  labourers 
in  the  vineyard,  contained  in  the  twentieth  chapter  of  the 
Gospel  by  Matthew.  The  interpretation  of  this  parable, 
the  mischief  and  delusion  of  which  we  shall  endeavour  to  lay 
open,  is,  that  it  relates  to  the  call  of  individuals,  and  to  the 
different  periods  in  the  age  of  each  individual  at  which  this 
call  is  accepted  by  them.  We  almost  know  nothing  more 
familiar  to  us,  both  in  the  works  of  authors,  and  in  the  con- 
versation of  private  Christians,  than  when  the  repentance 
of  an  aged  man  is  the  topic,  it  is  represented  as  a  case  of 
repentance  at  the  eleventh  hour  of  the  day.  We  are  far 
from  disputing  the  possibility  of  such  a  repentance,  nor 
should  those  who  address  the  message  of  the  gospel  ever  be 
restrained  from  the  utterance  of  the  free  call  of  the  gospel,  in 
the  hearing  of  the  oldest  and  most  inveterate  sinner  whom 
they  may  meet  with.  But  what  we  contend  for,  is,  that  this  is 
not  the  drift  of  the  parable.  The  parable  relates  to  the  call 
of  nations,  and  to  the  different  periods  in  the  age  of  the  world 
at  which  this  call  was  addressed  to  each  of  them,  and  not, 
as  we  have  already  observed,  to  the  call  of  individuals,  and 
to  the  different  periods  in  the  age  of  each  individual  at  which 
this  call  is  accepted  by  them.*  It  is  not  true  that  the  labour- 

*  To  render  our  argument  more  intelligible,  we  shall  briefly  state 
what  we  conceive  to  be  the  true  explanation  of  the  parable.  In  the 
verses  preceding  the  parable,  Peter  had  stated  the  whole  amount  of 
the  suiTcnder  that  he  and  his  fellow-disciples  had  made  by  the  act  of 
following  after  Jesus ;  and  it  is  evident,  that  they  all  looked  forward  to 
some  great  and  temporal  remuneration — some  share  in  the  glories  of 
the  Israelitish  monarchy — some  place  of  splendour  or  distinction  under 
that  new  government,  which  they  imagined  was  to  be  set  up  in  the 
world  ;  and  they  never  conceived  any  thing  else,  than  that  in  this  al- 
tered state  of  things,  the  people  of  their  own  country  were  to  be  raised 
to  high  pre-eminence  among  the  nations  which  had  oppressed  and  de- 
graded them.    It  was  in  the  face  of  this  expectation,  that  our  Saviour 


ers  who  began  to  work  in  the  vineyard  on  the  first  hour  of 
the  day,  denote  these  Christians  who  began  to  remember 
their  Creator,  and  to  render  the  obedience  of  the  faith  unto 
his  Gospel  with  their  first  and  earUest  education.  It  is  not 
true,  that  they  who  entered  into  this  service  on  the  third 
hour  of  the  day,  denote  those  Christians,  who  after  a  boyhood 
of  thoughtless  unconcern  about  the  things  of  eternity,  are 
arrested  in  the  season  of  youth,  by  a  visitation  of  serious- 
ness, and  betake  themselves  to  the  faith  and  the  following 
of  the  Saviour  who  died  for  them.  It  is  not  true,  that  they 
who  were  hired  on  the  sixth  and  ninth  hours,  denote  those 
Christians,  who,  after  having  spent  the  prime  of  their  youth- 
ful vigour  in  alienation  from  G  od,  and  perhaps  run  out  some 
mad  career  of  guilt  and  profligacy,  put  on  their  Christianity 
along  with  the  decencies  of  their  sober  and  established  man- 
uttered  a  sentence,  which  we  meet  oftener  than  once  among  his  re- 
corded sayings  in  the  New  Testament,  "  Many  that  are  first  shall  be 
last,  and  the  last  shall  be  first."  The  Israelites,  whom  God  distin- 
guished at  an  early  period  of  the  world,  by  a  revelation  of  himself, 
were  first  invited  in  the  doing  of  his  will^  (which  is  fitly  enough  repre- 
sented by  working  in  his  vineyard,)  to  the  possession  of  his  favour, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  his  rewards.  This  offer  to  work  in  that  peculiar 
vineyard  where  God  assigned  to  them  a  performance,  and  bestowed  on 
them  a  recompense,  was  made  to  Abraham  and  to  his  descendants  at 
a  very  early  period  in  history ;  and  a  succession  of  prophets  and  right- 
eous men  were  sent  to  renew  the  offer,  and  the  communications  from 
God  to  the  world  followed  the  stream  of  ages,  down  to  the  time  of  the 
utterance  of  this  parable.  And  a  few  years  afterwards,  the  same 
offers,  and  the  same  invitations,  were  addressed  to  another  people ; 
and  at  this  late  period,  at  this  eleventh  hour,  the  men  of  those  coun- 
tries which  had  never  before  been  visited  by  any  authoritative  call  from 
heaven,  had  this  call  hfted  up  in  their  hearing,  and  many  Gentiles  ac- 
cepted that  everlasting  life,  of  which  the  Jews  counted  themselves  un- 
worthy. And  as  to  the  people  of  Israel,  who  valued  themselves  so 
much  on  their  privileges — who  had  turned  all  the  revelations,  by  which 
their  ancestors  had  been  honoured,  into  a  matter  of  distinction  and  of 
vain  security — who  had  ever  been  in  the  habit  of  eyeing  the  profane 
Gentiles  with  all  that  contempt  which  is  laid  upon  outcasts,  this  para- 
ble received  its  fulfilment  at  the  time  when  these  Gentiles,  by  their 
acceptance  of  the  Saviour,  were  exalted  to  an  equal  place  among  the 
chiefest  favourites  of  God  ;  and  these  Jews,  by  their  refusal  of  him^ had 
their  name  rooted  out  from  among  the  nations — and  those  first  and  fore- 
most in  all  the  privileges  of  religion,  are  now  become  the  last.  Now 
this  we  conceive  to  be  the  real  design  of  the  parable.  It  was  designed 
to  reconcile  the  minds  of  the  disciples  to  that  part  of  the  economy  of 
Ck)d,  which  was  most  off'ensive  to  their  hopes  and  to  their  prejudices. 
It  asserted  the  sovereignty  of  the  Supreme  Being  in  the  work  of  dis- 
pensing his  calls  and  his  favours  among  the  people  whom  he  had 
formed.  It  furnished  a  most  decisive  and  silencing  reproof  to  the  Jews, 
who  were  filled  with  envy  against  the  Gentiles  ;  and  who,  even  those 
of  them  that  embraced  the  Christian  profession,  made  an  obstinate 
struggle  against  the  admission  of  those  Gentiles  into  the  church  oa 
equal  terms  with  themselves. 


XI 


hood.  Neither  is  it  true,  that  the  labourers  of  the  eleventh 
hour,  the  men  who  had  stood  all  day  idle,  represent  those 
aged  converts  who  liave  put  off  their  repentance  to  the  last— 
those  men  who  have  renounced  the  world  when  they  could 
not  help  it— those  men  who  have  put  on  Christianity,  but 
not  till  they  had  put  on  their  wrinkles — those  men  who  have 
run  the  varied  stages  of  depravity,  from  the  frivolous  uncon- 
cern of  a  boy,  and  the  appalling  enormities  of  misled  and 
misguided  youth,  and  the  deep  and  determined  worldliness 
of  middle  age,  and  the  clinging  avarice  of  him,  who,  while 
with  slow  and  tottering  footsteps  he  descends  the  hill  of  hfe, 
has  a  heart  more  obstinately  set  than  ever  on  all  its  interests, 
and  all  its  sordid  accumulations,  but  who,  when  death  taps 
at  the  door,  awakes  from  his  dream,  and  thinks  it  now  time 
to  shake  away  his  idolatrous  affections  from  the  mammon  of 
unrighteousness. 

Such  are  the  men  who,  after  having  taken  their  full  swing 
of  all  that  the  world  could  offer,  and  of  all  that  they  could 
enjoy  of  it,  defer  the  whole  work  of  preparation  for  eternity 
to  old  age,  and  for  the  hire  of  the  labourers  of  the  eleventh 
hour,  do  all  that  they  can  in  the  way  of  sighs,  and  sorrows, 
and   expiations   of  penitential    acknowledgment.     What! 
will  we  offer  to  liken  such  men  to  those  who  sought  the 
Lord  early,  and  who  found  him  ?  Will  we  say  that  he  who 
repents  when  old,  is  at  all  to  be  compared  to  him,  who  bore 
the  whole  heat  and  burden  of  a  life  devoted  throughout  all 
Its  stages  to  the  glory  and  the  remembrance  of  the  Creator  ? 
Who,  from  a  child,  trembled  at  the  word  of  the  Lord,  and 
aspn-ed  after  a  conformity  to  all  his  ways  ?   Who,  when  a 
young  man,  fulfilled  that  most  appropriate  injunction  of  the 
apostle,  "Be  thou  strong?"  Who  fought  it  with  manly  de- 
termmation  against  all  the  enemies  of  principle  by  which  he 
was  surrounded,  and  spurned  the  enticements  of  vicious  ac- 
quaintances away  from  him  ;  and  nobly  stood  it  out,  even 
though  unsupported  and  alone,  against  the  unhallowed  con- 
tempt of  a  whole  multitude  of  scorners  ;  and  with  intrepid 
defiance  to  all  the  assaults  of  ridicule,  maintained  a  firmness, 
which  no  wile  could  seduce  from  the  posts  of  vigilance  ;  and 
cleared  his  unfaltering  way  through  all  the  allurements  of  a 
perverse  and  crooked  generation.     Who,  even  in  the  midst 
of  a  most  withering  atmosphere  on  every  side  of  him,  kept 
all  his  purposes  unbroken,  and  all  his  delicacies  untainted. 
Who,  with  the  rigour  of  self-command,  combined  the  soften- 
ing lustre  which  a  pure  and  amiable  modesty  sheds  over  the 
moral  complexion  of  him  who  abhors  that  which  is  evil,  and 
cleaves  to  that  which  is  good,  with  all  the  energy  of  a  holy 


Xll 

determination.  Can  that  be  a  true  interpretation,  which 
levels  this  youth  of  promise  and  of  accomplishment,  with  his 
equal  in  years,  who  is  now  prosecuting  every  guilty  indul- 
gence, and  crowns  the  audacity  of  his  rebellion  by  tlie  mad 
presumption,  that  ere  he  dies,  he  shall  be  able  to  propitiate 
that  God,  on  the  authority  of  all  whose  calls,  and  all  whose 
remonstrances,  he  is  now  trampling  ?  Or  follow  each  of  them 
to  the  evening  of  their  earthly  prilgrimage — will  you  say 
that  the  penitent  of  the  eleventh  hour,  is  at  all  to  be  likened 
to  him  who  has  given  the  whole  of  his  existence  to  the  work 
and  the  labour  of  Chi-istianity  ?  to  him  who,  after  a  morning 
of  life  adorned  with  all  the  gracefulness  we  have  attempted 
to  describe,  sustains  through  the  whole  of  his  subsequent 
history  such  a  high  and  ever-brightening  example,  that  his 
path  is  like  the  shining  light,  which  shineth  more  and  more 
unto  the  perfect  day  ;  and  every  year  he  lives,  the  graces  of 
an  advancing  sanctification  form  into  a  richer  assemblage  of 
all  that  is  pure,  and  lovely,  and  honorable,  and  of  good  re- 
port ;  and  when  old  age  comes,  it  brings  none  of  the  turbu- 
lence or  alarm  of  an  mifinished  preparation  along  with  it — 
but  he  meets  death  with  the  quiet  assurance  of  a  man  who 
is  in  readiness,  and  hails  his  message  as  a  friendly  intima- 
tion ;  and  as  he  lived  in  the  splendour  of  ever-increasing 
acquirements,  so  he  dies  in  all  the  radiance  of  anticipated 
glory. 

This  interpretation  of  the  parable  cannot  be  sustained  ; 
and  we  think,  that,  out  of  its  own  mouth,  a  condemnation 
may  be  stamped  upon  iL  Mark  this  peculiarity.  The  la- 
bourers of  the  eleventh  hour  are  not  men  who  got  the  offer 
before,  but  men  who  for  the  first  time  received  a  call  to 
work  in  the  vineyard  ;  and  they  may,  therefore,  well  repre- 
sent the  people  of  a  country,  who,  for  the  first  time,  received 
the  overtures  of  the  Gospel.  The  answer  they  gave  to  the 
question.  Why  stand  you  so  long  idle  ?  was,  that  no  man 
had  hired  them.  We  do  not  read  of  any  of  the  labourers  of 
the  third,  or  sixth,  or  ninth  hours,  refusing  the  call  at  these 
times,  and  afterward  rendering  a  compliance  with  the  even- 
ing call,  and  getting  the  penny  for  which  they  decUned  the 
offer  of  working  several  hours,  but  afterwards  agreed,  when 
the  proposal  was  made,  that  they  should  work  one  hour 
only.  They  had  a  very  good  answer  to  give,  in  excuse  for 
their  idleness.  They  never  had  been  called  before.  And 
the  oldest  men  of  a  Pagan  country  have  the  very  same 
answer  to  give,  on  the  first  arrival  of  Christian  missionaries 
amongst  them.  But  we  have  no  part  nor  lot  in  this  parable. 
We  liaye  it  not  in  our  power  to  offer  any  such  apology. 


XUl 

There  is  not  one  of  ns  who  can  excuse  the  impenitency  of 
the  past,  on  the  plea  that  no  man  has  called  us.  This  is  a 
call  that  has  been  sounded  in  our  ears,  from  our  very  infancy. 
Every  time  we  have  seen  a  bible  on  our  shelves,  we  have 
had  a  call.  Every  time  we  have  heard  a  minister  in  the 
pulpit,  we  have  had  a  call.  Every  time  we  have  heard  the 
generous  invitation,  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth,  come  ye 
unto  the  waters,"  we  have  had  a  solemn,  and  what  ought  to 
have  been  a  most  impressive,  call.  Every  time  a  parent  has 
plied  us  with  a  good  advice,  or  a  neighbour  come  forward  with 
a  friendly  persuasion,  we  have  had  a  call.  Every  time  that 
the  Sabbath  bell  has  rung  for  us  to  the  house  of  God,  we 
have  had  a  call.  These  are  all  so  many  distinct  and  repeated 
calls.  These  are  past  events  in  our  life,  which  rise  in  judg- 
ment against  us,  and  remind  us,  with  a  justice  of  argument 
that  there  is  no  evading,  that  we  have  no  right  whatever  to 
the  privileges  of  the  eleventh  hour. 

This,  then,  is  the  train  to  which  we  feel  ourselves  directed 
by  this  parable.  The  mischievous  interpretation  which  has 
been  put  upon  it,  has  wakened  up  our  alarms,  and  set  us  to 
look  at  the  delusion  which  it  fosters,  and,  if  possible,  to  drag 
out  to  the  light  of  day,  the  fallacy  which  lies  in  it.  We 
should  like  to  reduce  every  man  to  the  feeling  of  the  alter- 
native of  repentance  now,  or  repentance  never.  We  should 
like  to  flash  it  upon  your  convictions,  that,  by  putting  the 
call  away  from  you  now,  you  put  your  eternity  away  from 
you.  We  should  like  to  expose  the  whole  amount  of  that 
accursed  infatuation  which  lies  in  delay.  We  should  like 
to  arouse  every  soul  out  of  its  lethargies,  and  giving  no  quar- 
ter to  the  plea  of  a  little  more  sleep,  and  a  little  more  slum- 
ber, we  should  like  you  to  feel  as  if  the  whole  of  yoiu' future 
destiny  hinged  on  the  very  firi?t  movement  to  which  you 
turned  yourselves. 

The  work  of  repentance  must  have  a  beginning ;  and  we 
should  like  you  to  know,  that,  if  not  begun  to-day,  the 
chance  will  be  less  of  its  being  begun  to-morrow.  And  if 
the  greater  chance  has  failed,  what  hope  can  we  build  upon 
the  smaller? — and  a  chance  too  that  is  always  getting 
smaller.  Each  day,  as  it  revolves  over  the  sinner's  head, 
finds  him  a  harder,  and  a  more  obstinate,  and  a  more  help- 
lessly enslaved  sinner  than  before.  It  was  this  considera- 
tion which  gave  Richard  Baxter  such  earnestness  and  such 
urgency  in  his  "Call."  He  knew  that  the  barrier  in  the 
way  of  the  sinner's  return,  was  strengthened  by  every  act 
of  resistance  to  the  call  wh  ich  urges  it.  That  the  refusal  of 
this  moment  hardened  the  man  against  the  next  attack  o£ 


SL  Gospel  argument  that  is  brought  to  bear  upon  him.  That 
if  he  attempted  you  now,  and  lie  failed,  when  he  came  back 
upon  you,  he  would  find  himself  working  on  a  more  obstinate 
and  uncomplying  subject  than  over.  And  therefore  it  is,  that 
he  ever  feels  as  if  the  present  were  his  only  opportunity. 
That  he  is  now  upon  his  vantage  ground,  and  he  gives  every 
energy  of  his  soul  to  the  gi-eat  point  of  making  the  most  of 
it.  He  will  put  up  with  none  of  your  evasions.  He  will 
consent  to  none  of  your  postponements.  He  will  pay  re- 
spect to  none  of  your  more  convenient  seasons.  He  tells  you, 
that  the  matter  with  which  he  is  charged,  has  all  the  urgency 
of  a  matter  in  hand.  He  speaks  to  you  with  as  much  earn- 
estness as  if  he  knew  that  you  were  going  to  step  into  eter- 
nity in  half  an  hour.  He  dehvers  his  message  with  as 
much  solemnity  as  if  he  knew  that  this  was  your  last  meeting 
on  earth,  and  that  you  were  never  to  see  each  other  till  you 
stood  together  at  the  judgment  seat.  He  knew  that  some 
mighty  change  must  take  place  in  you,  ere  you  be  fit  for 
entering  into  the  presence  of  God ;  and  that  the  time  in 
■which,  on  every  plea  of  duty  and  of  interest,  you  should  be- 
stir yourselves  to  secure  this,  is  the  present  time.  This  is 
the  distinct  point  he  assigns  to  himself;  and  the  whole  drift 
of  his  argument,  is  to  urge  an  instantaneous  choice  of  the 
better  part,  by  telling  you  how  you  multiply  eveiy  day  the 
obstacles  to  your  future  repentance,  if  you  begin  not  the 
work  of  repentance  now. 

Before  bringing  our  Essay  to  a  close,  we  shall  make  some 
observations  on  the  mistakes  concerning  repentance  which 
we  have  endeavoured  to  expose,  and  adduce  some  arguments 
for  urging  on  the  consciences  of  our  readers  the  necessity  and 
importance  of  immediate  repentance. 

1.  The  work  of  repentance  is  a  work  which  must  be  done 
ere  we  die ;  for,  unless  we  repent,  we  shall  all  likewise  perish. 
Now,  the  easier  this  work  is  in  our  conception,  we  will  think  it 
the  less  necessary  to  enter  upon  it  immediately.  We  will  look 
upon  it  as  a  work  that  may  be  done  at  any  time,  and  let  us, 
therefore,  put  it  off  a  little  longer,  and  a  Uttle  longer.  We  will 
perhaps  look  forward  to  that  retirement  from  the  world  and 
Its  temptations  which  we  figure  old  age  to  bring  along  with  it, 
and  falling  in  with  the  too  common  idea,  that  the  evening  of 
life  is  the  appropriate  season  of  preparation  for  another 
world,  we  will  think  that  the  author  is  bearing  too  closely 
and  too  urgently  upon  us,  when,  in  the  language  of  the  Bi- 
ble, he  speaks  of  "  to-day,^''  while  it  is  called  to-day,  and  will 
let  us  off  with  no  other  repentance  than  repentance  "  »iou)," — 
seeing  that  now  only  is  the  accepted  time,  and  uow  only  the 


XV 

day  of  salvation,  which  he  has  a  warrant  to  proclaim  to  us. 
This  dilatory  way  of  it  is  very  much  favoured  by  the  mistaken 
and  very  defective  view  of  repentance  which  we  have  at- 
tempted to  expose.  We  have  somehow  or  other  got  into  the 
delusion,  that  repentance  is  sorrow,  and  little  else ;  and  were 
we  called  to  fix  upon  the  scene  where  this  sorrow  is  likely 
to  be  felt  in  the  degree  that  is  deepest  and  most  overwhelm- 
ing, we  would  point  to  the  chamber  of  the  dying  man.  It 
is  awful  to  think  that,  generally  speaking,  this  repentance 
of  mere  sorrow  is  the  only  repentance  of  a  deathbed.  Yes  ! 
we  will  meet  with  sensibility  deep  enough  and  painful  enough 
there — with  regret  in  all  its  bitterness — with  terror  muster- 
ing up  its  images  of  despair,  and  dwelling  upon  them  in  all 
the  gloom  of  an  affrighted  imagination  ;  and  this  is  mistaken, 
not  merely  for  the  drapery  of  repentance,  but  for  the  very 
substance  of  iL  We  look  forward,  and  we  count  upon  this — 
that  the  sins  of  a  life  are  to  be  expvmged  by  the  sighing  and 
the  sorrowing  of  the  last  days  of  it.  We  should  give  up  this 
wretchedly  superficial  notion  of  repentance,  and  cease,  from 
this  moment,  to  be  led  astray  by  it.  The  mind  may  sorrow 
over  its  corruptions  at  the  very  time  that  it  is  under  the 
power  of  them.  To  grieve  because  we  ai-e  under  the  cap- 
tivity of  sin  is  one  thing — to  be  released  from  that  captivity 
is  another.  A  man  may  weep  most  bitterly  over  the  perver- 
sities of  his  moral  constitution ;  but  to  change  that  constitu- 
tion is  a  different  affair.  Now,  this  is  the  mighty  work  of 
repentance.  He  who  has  undergone  it  is  no  longer  the  ser- 
vant of  sin.  He  dies  unto  sin,  he  lives  unto  God.  A  sense 
of  the  authority  of  God  is  ever  present  with  him,  to  wield  the 
ascendency  of  a  great  master-principle  over  all  his  move- 
ments— to  call  forth  every  purpose,  and  to  carry  it  forward, 
through  all  the  opposition  of  sin  and  of  Satan,  into  accomplish- 
ment. This  is  the  grand  revolution  in  the  state  of  the  mind 
which  repentance  brings  along  with  it.  To  grieve  because 
this  work  is  not  done,  is  a  very  different  thing  from  the  do- 
ing of  it.  A  deathbed  is  the  very  best  scene  for  acting  the 
first ;  but  it  is  the  very  worst  for  acting  the  second.  The 
repentance  of  Judas  has  often  been  acted  there.  We  ought 
to  think  of  the  work  in  all  its  magnitude,  and  not  to  put  it 
off  to  that  awful  period  when  the  soul  is  crowded  with  other 
things,  and  has  to  maintain  its  weary  struggle  with  the  pains 
and  the  distresses,  and  the  shiverings,  and  the  breathless 
agonies  of  a  deathbed. 

2.  There  are  two  views  that  may  be  taken  of  the  way  ia 
which  repentance  is  brought  about,  and  whichever  of  them 
is  adopted,  delay  carries  along  with  it  the  saddest  infatua- 


XVI 

tion.  It  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  step  taken  by  man  as  a 
voluntary  agent,  and  we  would  ask  you,  upon  your  experi- 
ence of  the  powers  and  the  performances  of  humanity,  if  a 
deathbed  is  the  time  for  taking  such  a  step  ?  Is  this  a  time 
for  a  voluntary  being  exercising  a  vigorous  control  over  his 
own  movements  ?  When  racked  with  pain,  and  borne  down 
by  the  pressure  of  a  sore  and  overwhelming  calamity  ? 
Surely  the  greater  the  work  of  repentance  is,  the  more  ease, 
the  more  time,  the  more  freedom  from  sutTering,  is  necessary 
for  carrying  it  on  ;  and,  therefore,  addressing  you  as  volun- 
tary beings,  as  beings  who  will  and  who  do,  we  call  upon 
you  to  seek  God  early  that  you  may  find  him — to  haste,  and 
make  no  delay  in  keeping  his  commandments.  The  other 
view  is,  that  repentance  is  not  a  self-originating  work  in  man, 
but  the  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  him  as  the  subject  of  its 
influences.  This  view  is  not  opposite  to  the  former.  It  is 
true  that  man  wills  and  does  at  every  step  in  the  business  of 
his  salvation  ;  and  it  is  as  true  that  God  works  in  him  so  to 
will  and  to  do.  Take  this  last  view  of  it,  then.  Look  on 
repentance  as  the  work  of  God's  Spirit  in  the  soul  of  man, 
and  we  are  furnished  with  a  more  impressive  argument  than 
ever,  and  set  on  higher  vantage  for  urging  you  to  stir  your- 
selves, and  set  about  it  immediately.  What  is  it  that  you 
propose  ?  To  keep  by  your  present  habits,  and  your  pres- 
ent indulgences — and  build  yourselves  up  all  the  while  in 
the  confidence  that  the  Spirit  will  interpose  with  his  mighty 
power  of  conversion  vipon  you,  at  the  very  point  of  time  that 
you  have  fixed  vipon  as  convenient  and  agreeable  ?  And  how 
do  you  conciliate  the  Spirit's  answer  to  your  call  then  ?  W  hy, 
by  doing  all  you  can  to  grieve,  and  to  quench,  and  to  pro- 
voke him  to  abandon  you  now.  Do  you  feel  a  motion  to- 
wards repentance  at  this  moment  ?  If  you  keep  it  alive,  and 
act  upon  it,  good  and  well.  But  if  you  smother  and  suppress 
this  motion,  you  resist  the  Spirit — you  stifle  his  movements 
within  you  ;  it  is  what  the  impenitent  do  day  after  day,  and 
year  after  year — and  is  this  the  way  for  securing  the  influ- 
ences of  the  Spirit  at  the  time  that  you  would  like  them  best  ? 
When  you  are  done  with  the  world,  and  are  looking  forward 
to  eternity  because  you  cannot  help  it  ?  God  says,  "  Mv 
Spirit  will  not  always  strive  with  the  children  of  men."  A 
good  and  a  free  Spirit  he  undoubtedly  is,  and,  as  a  proof  of 
it,  he  is  now  saying,  "Let  whosoever  will,  come  and  drink 
of  the  water  of  life  freely."  He  says  so  now,  but  we  do  not 
promise  that  he  will  say  so  with  effect  upon  your  deathbeds, 
if  vou  refuse  him  now.  You  look  forward  then  for  a  pow- 
er£il  work  of  conversion  being  done  upon  you,  and  yet  you 


XV  u 

employ  yourselves  ail  your  life  long  in  raising  and  multiply- 
ing obstacles  against  it.  You  count  upon  a  miracle  of  grace 
before  you  die,  and  the  way  you  take  to  make  yourselves 
sure  of  it,  is  to  grieve  and  ofiend  him  while  you  live,  who 
alone  can  perform  the  miracle.  O  what  cruel  deceits  will 
sin  land  us  in  !  and  how  artfully  it  pleads  for  a  "  little  more 
sleep,  and  a  little  more  slumber ;  a  little  more  folding  of  the 
hands  to  sleep."  We  should  hold  out  no  longer,  nor  make 
not  such  an  abuse  of  the  forbearance  of  God  :  we  will  treas- 
ure up  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath  if  we  do  so.  The 
genuine  efiect  of  his  goodness  is  to  lead  to  repentance  ;  let 
not  its  effect  upon  us  be  to  harden  and  encourage  ourselves 
in  the  ways  of  sin.  We  should  cry  now  for  the  clean  heart 
and  the  right  spirit;  and  such  is  the  exceeding  freenessof 
the  Spirit  of  God,  that  we  will  be  listened  to.  If  we  put  off 
the  cry  till  then,  the  same  God  may  laugh  at  our  calamity, 
and  mock  when  our  fear  cometh. 

3.  Our  next  argument  for  immediate  repentance  is,  tJiat 
we  cannot  bring  forward,  at  any  future  period  of  your  his- 
tory, any  considerations  of  a  more  prevailing  or  more  pow- 
erfully moving  influence  than  those  we  may  bring  forward  at 
this  moment.  We  can  tell  you  now  of  the  terrors  of  the 
Lord,  We  can  tell  you  now  of  the  solemn  mandates  which 
have  issued  from  his  throne — and  the  authority  of  which  is 
upon  one  and  all  of  you.  We  can  tell  you  now,  that  though, 
in  this  dead  and  darkened  world,  sin  appears  but  a  very  tri- 
vial affaii* — for  every  body  sins,  and  it  is  shielded  from  execra- 
tion by  the  universal  countenance  of  an  entire  species  lying 
in  wickedness — yet  it  holds  true  of  God,  what  is  so  emphati- 
cally said  of  him,  that  he  cannot  be  mocked,  nor  will  he  en- 
dure it  that  you  should  riot  in  the  impunity  of  your  wilful 
resistance  to  him  and  to  his  warnings.  We  can  tell  you  now, 
that  he  is  a  God  of  vengeance  ;  and  though,  for  a  season,  he 
is  keeping  back  all  the  thunder  of  it  from  a  world  that  he 
■would  like  to  reclaim  unto  himself,  yet,  if  you  put  all  his  ex- 
postulations away  from  you,  and  will  not  be  reclaimed,  these 
thunders  will  be  let  loose  upon  you,  and  they  will  fall  on 
your  guilty  heads,  armed  with  tenfold  energy,  because  you 
have  not  only  defied  his  threats,  but  turned  your  back  on  his 
offers  of  reconciliation.  These  are  the  arguments  by  which 
we  would  try  to  open  our  way  to  your  consciences,  and  to 
awaken  up  your  fears,  and  to  put  the  inspiring  activity  of 
hope  into  your  bosoms,  by  laying  before  you  those  invita- 
tions which  are  addressed  to  the  sinner,  through  the  peace- 
speaking  blood  of  Jesus,  and,  in  the  name  of  a  beseeching 
God,  to  win  your  acceptance  of  them.    At  no  future  period 

2* 


XVUl 

can  we  address  ar^ments  more  powerful  and  more  affecting 
than  these.  If  these  argument  do  not  prevail  upon  you,  we 
know  of  none  others  by  which  a  victory  over  the  stubborn 
and  vmcomplying  will  can  be  accomplished,  or  by  which  we 
can  ever  hope  to  beat  in  that  sullen  front  of  resistance  where- 
with you  now  so  impregnably  withstand  us.  We  feel  that, 
if  any  stout-hearted  sinner  shall  rise  from  the  perusal  of  these 
Treatises  with  an  unawakened  conscience,  and  give  himself 
to  an  act  of  wilful  disobedience,  we  feel  as  if,  in  reference  to 
him,  we  had  made  om*  last  discharge,  and  it  fell  powerless 
as  water  spilt  on  the  ground,  that  cannot  be  gathered  up 
again.  We  would  not  cease  to  ply  him  with  our  aguments, 
and  tell  him,  to  the  hour  of  death,  of  the  Lord  God,  merciful 
and  gracious,  who  is  not  willing  that  any  shovdd  perish,  but 
that  all  should  turn  to  him,  and  live.  And  if  in  future  life 
we  should  meet  him  at  the  eleventh  hour  of  his  dark  and  de- 
ceitful day — a  hoary  sinner,  sinking  under  the  decrepitude 
of  age,  and  bending  on  the  side  of  the  grave  that  is  open  to 
receive  him — even  theii  we  would  testify  the  exceeding  free- 
ness  of  the  grace  of  God,  and  implore  his  acceptance  of  it. 
But  how  could  it  be  away  from  our  minds  that  he  is  not  one 
of  the  evening  labourers  of  the  parable  ?  We  had  met  with 
him  at  former  periods  of  his  existence,  and  the  oft'er  we  make 
him  now  we  made  him  then,  and  he  did  what  the  labourers 
of  the  third,  and  sixth,  and  ninth  hours  of  the  parable  did 
not  do — he  rejected  our  call  to  hire  him  into  the  vineyard  ; 
and  this  heartless  recollection,  if  it  did  not  take  all  our  en- 
ergy aAvay  from  us,  would  leave  vis  little  else  than  the  energy 
of  despair.  And  therefore  it  is,  that  we  speak  to  you  now 
as  if  this  was  our  last  hold  of  you.  We  feel  as  if  on  your 
present  purpose  hung  all  the  preparations  of  your  future 
life,  and  all  the  rewards  or  all  the  horrors  of  your  coming 
eternity.  We  will  not  let  you  oif  with  any  other  repentance 
than  repentance  now  ;  and  if  this  be  refused  now,  we  cannot, 
with  our  eyes  open  to  the  consideration  Ave  have  now  urged, 
that  the  instrument  we  make  to  bear  upon  you  afterwards 
is  not  more  powerful  than  we  are  wielding  now,  coupled 
with  another  consideration  which  we  shall  insist  upon,  that 
the  subject  on  which  the  instrument  worketh,  even  the  heart 
of  man,  gathers,  by  every  act  of  resistance,  a  more  uncom- 
plying obstinacy  than  before  ;  we  cannot,  with  these  two 
thoughts  in  our  mind,  look  forward  to  your  future  history, 
without  seeing  spread  oA'^er  the  whole  path  of  it  the  iron  of  a 
harder  impenitency — the  sullen  gloom  of  a  deeper  and  more 
determined  alienation. 


XIX 

4.  Another  argument,  therefore,  for  uTimediate  repentance 
is,  that  the  mind  whicli  resists  a  present  call  or  a  present 
reproof,  undergoes  a  progressive  hardening  towards  all  those 
considerations  which  arm  tlie  call  of  repentance  with  all  its 
energy.  It  is  not  enough  to  say,  that  the  instrument  by 
which  repentance  is  brought  about,  is  not  more  powerful  to- 
morrow than  it  is  to-day ;  it  lends  a  most  tremendous  weight 
to  the  argument,  to  say  further  that  the  subject  on  which 
this  instrument  is  putting  forth  its  efficiency,  will  oppose  a 
firmer  resistance  to-morrow  than  it  does  to  day.  It  is  this 
which  gives  a  significancy  so  powerful  to  the  call  of  "  To-day 
while  it  is  to-day,  harden  not  your  hearts  ;"  and  to  the  ad- 
monition of  "Knowest  thou  not,  O  man,  that  the  goodness 
of  God  leadeth  thee_to  repentance;  but  after,  thy  hardness 
and  impenitent  heart  treasurest  up  wrath  against  the  day  of 
wrath  and  revelation  of  the  righteous  judgments  of  God?" 
It  is  not  said,  either  in  the  one  or  in  the  other  of  these  pas- 
sages, that,  by  the  present  refusal,  you  cut  yourself  off  from 
a  future  invitation.  The  invitation  may  be  sounded  in  yom* 
hearing  to  the  last  half  hour  of  your  earthly  existence,  en- 
graved in  all  those  characters  of  free  and  gratuitous  kindness 
which  mark  the  beneficent  religion  of  the  New  Testament. 
But  the  present  refusal  hardens  you  against  the  power  and 
tenderness  of  the  future  invitation.  This  is  the  fact  in  human 
nature  to  which  these  passages  seem  to  point,  and  it  is  the 
fact  through  which  the  argument  for  immediate  repentance 
receives  such  powerful  aid  from  the  wisdom  of  experience. 
It  is  this  which  forms  the  most  impressive  proof  of  the  ne- 
cessity of  plying  the  young  with  all  the  weight  and  all  the 
tenderness  of  earnest  admonition,  that  the  now  susceptible 
mind  might  not  turn  into  a  substance  harder  and  more  un- 
complying than  the  rock  which  is  broken  in  pieces  by  the 
powerful  application  of  the  hammer  of  the  word  of  God. 

The  metal  of  the  human  soul,  so  to  speak,  is  like  some 
material  substances.  If  the  force  you  lay  upon  it  do  not 
break  it,  or  dissolve  it,  it  will  beat  it  into  hardness.  If  the 
moral  argument  by  which  it  is  plied  now  do  not  so  soften 
the  mind  as  to  carry  and  to  overpower  its  purposes,  then,  on 
another  day,  the  argument  may  be  put  forth  in  terms  as  im- 
pressive— but  it  falls  on  a  harder  mind,  and,  therefore,  with 
a  more  slender  efficiency.  If  the  threat,  that  ye  who  persist 
in  sin,  shall  have  to  dwell  with  the  devouring  fire,  and  to  lie 
down  amid  everlasting  burnings,  do  not  alarm  you  out  of 
your  iniquities  from  this  very  moment,  then  he  same  threat 
may  be  again  cast  out,  and  the  same  appalling  circumstan- 
ces of  terror  be  thrown  around  it,  but  it  is  ail  discharged  on 


XX 

tt  soul  hardened  by  its  inurement  to  the  thunder  of  denuncia- 
tions already  uttered,  and  the  urgency  of  menacing  threaten- 
ings  ah'eady  poured  forth  without  fi'uit  and  "without  effi- 
cacy. If  the  voice  of  a  beseeching  God  do  not  win  upon  you 
now,  and  charm  you  out  of  your  rebeUion  against  him,  by 
the  persuasive  energy  of  kindness,  then  let  that  voice  be 
lifted  in  your  hearmg  on  some  future  day,  and  though  armed 
■with  all  the  power  of  tenderness  it  ever  had,  how  shall  it 
find  its  entrance  into  a  heart  sheathed  by  the  operation  of 
habit,  that  universal  law,  in  more  impenetrable  obstinacy? 
If,  with  the  earliest  dawn  of  your  understanding,  you  have 
been  offered  the  hire  of  the  morning  labourer  and  have  re- 
fused it,  then  the  parable  does  not  say  that  you  are  the  per- 
son who  at  the  third,  or  sixth,  or  ninth,  or  eleventh  hour,  will 
get  the  offer  repeated  to  you.  It  is  true,  that  the  offer  is 
unto  all  and  upon  all  who  are  within  reach  of  the  hearing  of 
it.  But  there  is  all  the  difference  in  the  world  between  the 
impression  of  a  new  offer,  and  of  an  otTer  that  has  already 
been  often  heard  and  as  often  rejected — an  offer  which  comes 
upon  you  with  all  the  familiarity  of  a  well  kuowm  sound  that 
you  have  already  learned  how  to  dispose  of,  and  how  to  shut 
your  every  feeling  against  the  power  of  its  gracious  invita- 
tions— an  ofi^er  which,  if  discarded  from  your  hearts  at  the 
present  moment,  may  come  back  upon  you,  but  which  v^ill 
have  to  maintain  a  more  unequal  contest  than  before,  with 
an  impenitency  ever  strengthening,  and  ever  gathering  new 
hardness  from  each  successive  act  of  resistance.  And  thus 
it  is  that  the  point  for  which  we  are  contending,  is,  not  to 
carry  you  at  some  future  period  of  your  lives,  but  to  cany 
you  at  this  moment.  It  is  to  work  in  you  the  instantaneous 
purpose  of  a  firm  and  a  vigorously  sustained  repentance  ;  it 
IS  to  put  into  you  all  the  freshness  of  an  immediate  resolu- 
tion, and  to  stir  you  up  to  all  the  readiness  of  an  immediate 
accomplishment — it  is  to  give  direction  to  the  very  first  foot- 
step you  are  now  to  take,  and  lead  you  to  take  it  as  the  com- 
mencement of  that  holy  career,  in  which  all  old  things  are 
dene  away,  and  all  things  become  new — it  is  to  press  it  upon 
you,  that  the  state  of  the  alternative,  at  this  moment,  is 
"  now  or  never" — it  is  to  prove  how  fearful  the  odds  are 
against  you,  if  now  you  suffer  the  call  of  repentance  to  light 
upon  your  consciences,  and  still  keep  by  your  determined 
posture  of  careless,  and  thoughtless,  and  thankless  uncon- 
cern about  God.  You  have  resisted  to-day,  and  by  that  resis- 
tance you  have  acquired  a  firmer  metal  of  resistance  against 
tfie  power  of  every  future  warning  that  may  be  brought 
to  bear  upon  you.    You  have  stood  your  ground  against  the 


XXI 

urgency  of  the  most  earnest  admonitions,  and  against  the 
dreadfulness  of  the  most  terrifying  menaces.  On  that  ground 
you  have  fixed  yourself  more  immovably  than  before  ;  and 
though  on  some  future  day  the  same  spiritual  thunder  be 
made  to  play  around  you,  it  will  not  shake  you  out  of  the 
obstinacy  of  your  determined  rebellion. 

It  is  the  universal  laAv  of  habit,  that  the  feelings  are  always 
getting  more  faintly  and  feebly  impressed  by  every  repetition 
of  the  cause  which  excited  them,  and  that  the  mind  is  always 
getting  stronger  in  its  active  resistance  to  the  impulse  of 
these  feelings,  by  every  new  deed  of  resistance  which  it  per- 
forms ;  and  thus  it  is,  that  if  you  refuse  us  now,  we  have 
no  other  prospect  before  us  than  that  your  course  is  every  day 
getting  more  desperate  and  more  irrecoverable,  your  souls 
are  getting  more  hardened,  the  Spirit  is  getting  more  pro 
voked  to  abandon  those  who  have  so  long  persisted  in  their 
opposition  to  his  movements.  God,  who  says  that  his  Spirit 
will  not  always  strive  with  the  children  of  men,  is  getting 
more  offended.  The  tyranny  of  habit  is  getting  every  day  a 
firmer  ascendancy  over  you;  Satan  is  getting  you  more 
helplessly  involved  among  his  wiles  and  his  entanglements ; 
the  world,  with  all  the  inveteracy  of  those  desires  which  are 
opposite  to  the  will  of  the  Father,  is  more  and  more  lording 
it  over  your  every  affection.  And  what,  we  would  ask, 
what  is  the  scene  in  which  you  are  now  purposing  to  contest 
it,  with  all  this  mighty  force  of  opposition  you  are  now  so 
busy  in  raising  up  against  you  ?  What  is  the  field  of  com- 
bat to  which  you  are  now  looking  forward,  as  the  place 
where  you  are  to  accomphsh  a  victory  over  all  those  formi- 
dable enemies  whom  you  are  at  present  arming  with  such 
a  weight  of  hostility,  as,  we  say,  within  a  single  hair- 
breadth of  certainty,  you  will  find  to  be  irresistible  ?  O  the 
bigness  of  such  a  misleading  infatuation !  The  proposed 
scene  in  which  this  battle  for  eternity  is  to  be  fought,  and 
this  victory  for  the  crown  of  glory  to  be  won,  is  a  deathbed. 
It  is  when  the  last  messenger  stands  by  the  couch  of  the 
dying  man,  and  shakes  at  him  the  terrors  of  his  grisly  coun- 
tenance, that  the  poor  child  of  infatuation  thinks  he  is  to 
struggle  and  prevail  against  all  his  enemies ;  against  the 
unrelenting  tyranny  of  habit — against  the  obstinacy  of  his 
own  heart,  which  he  is  now  doing  so  much  to  harden — 
against  the  Spirit  of  God  who  perhaps  long  ere  now  has  pro- 
nounced the  doom  upon  him,  "  He  will  take  his  own  viray, 
and  walk  in  his  own  counsel ;  I  shall  cease  from  striving, 
and  let  him  alone  ;" — against  Satan,  to  whom  every  day  of 
his  life  he  has  given  some  fresh  advantage  over  him,  and 


XXll 

who  will  not  be  willing  to  lose  the  victim  on  whom  he  has 
practised  so  many  wiles,  and  plied  with  success  so  many- 
delusions.  And  such  are  the  enemies  whom  you,  who 
wretchedly  calculate  on  the  repentance  of  the  eleventh  hour, 
are  every  day  mustering  up  in  greater  force  and  formida- 
bleness  against  you  ;  and  how  can  we  think  of  letting  you 
go,  with  any  other  repe)itance  than  the  repentance  of  the 
precious  moment  that  is  now  passing  over  you,  when  we 
look  forward  to  the  horrors  of  that  impressive  scene,  on 
which  you  propose  to  win  the  prize  of  immortality,  and  to 
contest  it  singlehanded  and  alone,  with  all  the  weight  of  op- 
position which  you  have  accumulated  against  yourselves — a 
deathbed — a  languid,  breathless,  tossing,  and  agitated  death- 
bed ;  that  scene  of  feebleness,  when  the  poor  man  cannot 
help  himself  to  a  single  mouthful — when  he  must  have  at- 
tendants to  sit  around  him,  and  watch  his  every  wish,  and 
interpret  his  every  signal,  and  turn  him  to  every  posture 
where  he  may  find  a  moment's  ease,  and  wipe  away  the 
cold  sweat  that  is  running  over  him — and  ply  him  with  cor- 
dials for  thirst,  and  sickness,  and  insufferable  languor.  And 
this  is  the  time,  when  occupied  with  such  feelings,  and  beset 
with  such  agonies  as  these,  you  propose  to  crowd  within  the 
compass  of  a  few  wretched  days,  the  woi'k  of  winding  up 
the  concerns  of  a  neglected  eternity ! 

5.  But  it  may  be  said,  if  repentance  be  what  you  represent 
it,  a  thing  of  such  mighty  import,  and  such  impracticable 
performance,  as  a  change  of  mind,  in  what  rational  way  can 
It  be  made  the  subject  of  a  precept  or  an  injunction?  you 
would  not  call  upon  the  Ethiopian  to  change  his  skin — you 
would  not  call  upon  the  leopard  to  change  his  spots  ;  and 
yet  you  call  upon  us  to  change  our  minds.  You  say,  "  Re- 
pent ;"  and  that  too  in  the  face  of  the  undeniable  doctrine, 
that  man  is  without  strength  for  the  achievement  of  so  mighty 
an  enterprise.  Can  you  tell  us  any  plain  and  practicable 
thing  that  you  would  have  us  to  perform,  and  that  we  may 
perform  to  help  on  this  business  ?  This  is  the  very  question 
with  which  the  hearers  of  John  the  Baptist  came  back  upon 
him,  after  he  had  told  them  in  general  terms  to  repent,  and 
to  bring  forth  fruits  meet  for  repentance.  He  may  not  have 
resolved  the  difficulty,  but  he  pointed  the  expectation  of  his 
countrymen  to  a  greater  than  he  for  the  solution  of  it.  Now 
that  Teacher  has  already  come,  and  we  live  under  the  full 
and  the  finished  splendour  of  his  revelation.  O  that  the  great- 
ness and  difficulty  of  the  work  of  repentance,  had  the  effect 
of  shutting  you  up  into  the  faith  of  Christ !  Repentance  is 
not  a  paltry,  superficial  reformation.    It  reaches  deeo  into 


XXlll 

the  inner  man,  but  not  too  deep  for  the  searching  influences 
of  that  Spirit  which  is  at  his  giving,  and  which  worketh 
migutily  in  the  hearts  of  beUevers.  You  should  go  then  un- 
der a  sense  of  your  difficuky  to  Him.  Seek  to  be  rooted  in 
the  Saviour,  that  you  may  be  nourished  out  of  his  fulness, 
and  strengthened  by  his  might.  The  simple  cry  for  a  clean 
heart,  and  a  right  spirit,  which  is  raised  from  the  mouth  of 
a  believer,  brings  down  an  answer  from  on  high,  which  ex- 
plains all  the  difficulty  and  overcomes  it.  And  if  what  we 
have  said  of  the  extent  and  magnitude  of  repentance,  should 
have  the  effect  to  give  a  deeper  feeling  than  before  of  the 
wants  under  which  you  labour  ;  and  shall  dispose  you  to 
seek  after  a  closer  and  more  habitual  union  with  Him  who 
alone  can  supply  them,  then  will  our  call  to  repent  have  in 
deed  fulfilled  upon  you  the  appointed  end  of  a  preparation 
for  the  Saviour.  But  recollect,  now  is  your  time,  and  now 
is  your  opportunity,  for  entering  on  the  road  of  preparation 
that  leads  to  heaven.  We  charge  you  to  enter  this  road  at 
this  moment,  as  you  value  your  deliverance  from  hell,  and 
your  possession  of  that  blissful  place  where  you  shall  be  for- 
ever with  the  Lord — we  charge  you  not  to  parry  and  to  de- 
lay this  matter,  no  not  for  a  single  hour — we  call  on  you  by 
all  that  is  great  in  eternity — by  all  that  is  terrifying  in  its 
horrors — by  all  that  is  alluring  m  its  rewards — by  all  that  is 
binding  in  the  authority  of  God — by  all  that  is  condemning  , 
in  the  severity  of  his  violated  law,  and  by  all  that  can  aggra- 
vate this  condemnation  in  the  insulting  contempt  of  his  re- 
jected gospel ; — we  call  on  you  by  one  and  all  of  these  con- 
siderations, not  to  hesitate  but  to  flee — not  to  purpose  a  re- 
turn for  to-morrow,  but  to  make  an  actual  return  this  very 
day — to  put  a  decisive  end  to  every  plan  of  wickedness  on 
which  you  may  have  entered — to  cease  your  hands  from  all 
that  is  forbidden — to  turn  them  to  all  that  is  required — to 
betake  yourselves  to  the  appointed  Mediator,  and  receive 
through  him,  by  the  prayer  of  faith,  such  constant  supplies 
of  the  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  that,  from  this  moment,  you  may  be  carried  forward 
from  one  degree  of  grace  unto  another,  and  from  a  life  de- 
voted to  God  here,  to  the  elevation  of  a  triumphant,  and  the 
joys  of  a  blissful  eternity  hereafter. 

T.  C» 
St.  Andrew's,  October,  1825. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

The  Advertisement, 27 

The  Preface, 29 

The  Text  Opened, 41 

DocT.  1.  It  is  the  unchangeable  law  of  God,  that  wicked 

men  must  turn  or  die — Proved,  .         .         .         •  44 

God  will  not  be  so  unmerciful  as  to  damn  us — Answered,        63 

The  Use, 57 

Who  are  wicked  men,  and  what  conversion  is  ;  and  how  we 

may  know  whether  we  are  wicked  or  converted,  .  59 

Apphed, 63 

DocT.  2.  It  is  the  promise  of  God,  that  the  wicked  shall  live, 
if  they  will  but  turn  5  unfeignedly  and  thoroughly  turn — 

Proved, 66 

DocT.  3.  God  taketh  pleasure  in  men's  conversion  and  sal- 
vation, but  not  in  their  death  or  damnation.     He  had 
rather  they  would  turn  and  live,  than  go  on  and  die — 
Expounded — Proved,  ......  72 

DocT.  4.  The  Lord  hath  confirmed  it  to  us  by  his  oath, 
That  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked, 
but  that  he  turn  and  hve ;  that  he  may  leave  man  no 
pretence  to  doubt  it,  ......  79 

Ls£.  Who  is  it  then  that  takes  pleasure  in  men's  sin  and 

death? — Not  God,  nor  ministers,  nor  any  good  men,  .  ib. 

DocT.  5.  So  earnest  is  God  for  the  conversion  of  sinners, 
that  he  doubleth  his  commands  and  exhortations  with 
vehemency,  "  Turn  ye,  Turn  ye," — Applied,       .         .  85 

Some  motives  to  obey  God's  calls,  and  turn. 
DocT.  6.  The  Lord  condescendeth  to  reason  the  case  with 
unconverted  sinners,  and  to  ask  them,  Why  they  will 

die? 97 

A  strange  disputation: — 1.  For  the  question.     2.  The 
disputants. 
Wicked  men  will  die,  or  destroy  themselves. 
Use.  The  sinner's  case  is  certainly  unreasonable,  «        101 

3 


26  CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Their  seeming  reasons  confuted, 103 

GluEST.  Why  are  men  so  unreasonable,  and  loath  to  turn, 

and  will  destroy  themselves  ? — Answered,  .         .         115 

DocT.  7.  If  after  all  this,  men  will  not  turn,  it  is  not  God's 
fault  that  they  are  condemned,  but  their  own,  even  their 
own  wilfulness.      They  die  because  they  will  ;  that  is, 

because  they  will  not  turn, 118 

Use  1.  How  unfit  the  wicked  are  to  charge  God  with  their 
damnation.  It  is  not  because  God  is  unmerciful,  but 
because  they  are  cruel  and  merciless  to  themselves,  124 

Object.  We  cannot  convert  ourselves,  nor  have  we  Free- 
will— Answered,  (and  in  Preface,)     ....         128 
Use  2.  The  subtlety  of  Satan,  the  deceitfulness  of  sin,  and 

the  folly  of  sinners  manifested,  ....         129 

Use  3.  No  wonder  if  the  wicked  would  hinder  the  conver- 
sion and  salvation  of  others,        .....  ib. 
Use  4.  Man  is  the  greatest  enemy  to  himself,        .         .  ib. 
Man's  destruction  is  of  himself — Proved,            .         .         .         131 
The  heinous  aggravations  of  self-destroying,      .         .         .         137 

The  concluding  exhortation, 138 

Ten  Directions  for  those  that  had  rather  turn  than  die,       .         141 

NoAv  OR  Never, 149 

Fifty  Reasons, 185 

Extracts  from  Baxter's  Dying  Thoughts,  .        .        211 


THE  GREAT  SUCCESS  WHICH  ATTENDED  THE 
CALL  WHEN  FIRST  PUBLISHED. 


It  maybe  proper  to  prefix  an  account  of  this  book  given  by  Mr. 
Baxter  himself,  which  was  found  m  his  study,  after  his  death,  in 
his  own  words : 

'I  pubhshed  a  short  treatise  on  conversion,  entitled,  A  Call  to 
the  Unconverted.  The  occasion  of  this  was  my  converse  with 
Bishop  Usher  while  I  was  at  London  ;  who,  approving  my  method 
and  directions  for  Peace  of  Conscience,  was  importunate  with 
me  to  write  directions  suited  to  the  various  states  of  Christians, 
and  also  against  particular  sins.  I  reverenced  the  man,  but  dis- 
regarded these  persuasions,  supposing  I  could  do  nothing  but  what 
is  done  belter  already :  but  when  he  was  dead,  his  words  went 
deeper  to  my  mind,  and  I  purposed  to  obey  his  counsel ;  yet,  so 
as  that  to  the  first  sort  of  men,  the  ungodly,  I  thought  vehement 

f)ersuasions  meeter  than  directions  only:  and  so  for  such  I  pub- 
ished  this  little  book,  which  God  hath  blessed  with  unexpected 
success,  beyond  all  the  rest  that  I  have  written,  except  The 
Saint's  Rest.  In  a  little  more  than  a  year,  there  were  about 
twenty  thousand  of  them  printed  by  my  own  consent,  and  about 
ten  thousand  since,  beside  many  thousands  by  stolen  impressions, 
which  poor  men  stole  for  lucre's  sake.  Through  God's  mercy  I 
have  information  of  almost  whole  households  converted  by  this 
small  book  which  I  set  so  light  by:  and,  as  if  all  this  in  England, 
Scotland,  and  Ireland,  were  not  mercy  enough  to  me,  God,  since 
I  was  silenced,  hath  sent  it  over  in  his  message  to  many  beyond 
the  seas  ;  for  when  Mr.  Elliot  had  printed  all  the  Bible  in  the 
Indian  language,  he  next  translated  this  my  Call  to  the  Uncon- 
verted, as  he  wrote  to  us  here.  And  yet  God  would  make  some 
farther  use  of  it ;  for  Mr.  Stoop,  the  pastor  of  the  French  Church 
in  London,  being  driven  hence  by  the  displeasure  of  his  superiors 
was  pleased  to  translate  it  into  French.  I  hope  it  will  not  be  un- 
profitable there  ;  nor  in  Germany,  where  it  is  printed  in  Dutch.' 
It  may  be  proper  also  to  mention  Dr.  Bates's  account  of  the 
author,  and  of  this  useful  treatise.  In  his  sermon  at  Mr.  Bax- 
ter's funeral,  he  thus  says:  'His  books  cf  practical  divinity  have 
been  effectual  for  more  conversions  of  sinners  to  God  than  any 
printed  in  our  time ;  and  while  the  church  remains  on  earth,  will 
be  of  continual  efficacy  to  recover  lost  souls.  There  is  a  vigor- 
ous pulse  in  them,  that  keeps  the  reader  awake  and  attentive. 
His  Call  to  the  Unconverted  how  small  in  bulk,  but  how  powerful 


2S  ADVERTISEMENT. 

in  virtue !  Truth  speaks  in  it  with  that  authority  and  efficacy, 
that  it  makes  the  reader  to  lay  his  hand  upon  his  heart,  and  find 
that  he  has  a  soul  and  a  conscience,  though  he  lived  before  as  if 
he  had  none.  He  told  some  friends,  that  six  brothers  were  con- 
verted by  reading  that  Call;  and  that  every  week  he  received 
letters  of  some  converted  by  his  books.  This  he  spake  with  most 
humble  thankfulness,  that  God  was  pleased  to  use  him  as  an  in- 
strument for  the  salvation  of  souls. 


PREFACE. 


¥o  all  unsanciijied  Persons  that  shall  read  this  Book  ;  especially  of 
my  hearers  in  the  Borough  and  Parish  of  Kidderminster. 

Men  and  Brethren, 

The  eternal  God,  that  made  you  for  a  life  everlasting,  and  hath 
redeemed  you  by  his  only  Son,  when  you  had  lost  it  and  your- 
selves, being  mindful  of  you  in  your  sin  and  misery,  hath  indited 
the  gospel,  and  sealed  it  by  his  Spirit,  and  commanded  his  minis- 
ters to  preach  it  to  the  world,  that  pardon  being  freely  offered  you, 
and  Heaven  being  set  before  you,  he  might  call  you  off  from  your 
fleshly  pleasures,  and  from  following  after  this  deceitful  world,  and 
acquaint  you  with  the  life  that  you  were  created  and  redeemed  for, 
before  you  are  dead  and  past  remedy.  He  sendeth  you  not  pro- 
phets or  apostles,  that  receive  their  message  by  immediate  reve- 
lation ;  but  yet  he  calleth  you  by  his  ordinary  ministers,  who  are 
commissioned  by  him  to  preach  the  same  gospel  which  Christ  and 
his  apostles  first  delivered.  The  Lord  seeth  how  you  forget  him 
and  your  latter  end,  and  how  light  you  make  of  everlasting  things, 
as  men  that  understand  not  what  they  have  to  do  or  sutfer.  He 
seeth  how  bold  you  are  in  sin,  and  how  fearless  of  his  threatenings, 
and  how  careless  of  your  souls,  and  how  the  works  of  infidels  are 
in  your  lives,  while  the  belief  of  Christians  is  in  your  mouths.  He 
seeth  the  dreadful  day  at  hand,  when  your  sorrows  v/ill  begin,  and 
you  must  lament  all  this  with  fruitless  cries  in  torment  and  des- 
peration: and  then  the  remembrance  of  your  folly  will  tear  your 
hearts,  if  true  conversion  now  prevent  it  not.  In  compassion  to 
vour  sinful  miserable  souls,  the  Lord,  that  better  knows  your  case 
than  you  can  know  it,  hath  made  it  our  duty  to  speak  to  you  in  his 
name,  (2  Cor.  v.  19.)  and  to  tell  you  plainly  of  your  sin  and  misery, 
and  what  will  be  your  end,  and  how  sad  a  change  you  will  shortly 
see,  if  yet  you  go  on  a  little  longer.  Having  bought  you  at  so  deai" 
a  rate  as  the  blood  of  his  Son  Jesus  Christ,  and  made  you  so  free 
and  weneral  a  promise  of  pardon,  and  grace,  and  everlasting  glory; 
he  commandeth  us  to  tender  all  this  to  you,  as  the  gift  of  God,  and 
to  entreat  you  to  consider  of  the  necessity  and  worth  of  what  he 
offers.  He  sees  and  pities  you,  while  you  are  drowned  in  worldly 
cares  and  pleasures,  eagerly  following  childish  toys,  and  wasting 
that  short  and  precious  time  for  a  thing  of  nought,  in  which  you 
should  make  ready  for  an  everlasting  life ;  and  therefore  he  hath 
commanded  us  to  call  after  you,  and  tell  you  how  you  lose  your 
labour,  and  are  about  t©  lose  your  souls,  and  to  tell  you  what  greater 

3* 


30  PREFACE. 

and  better  things  you  might  certainly  have,  if  you  would  hearken 
to  his  call.  Isa.  Iv.  1,  2,  3.  We  believe  and  obey  the  voice  of 
God ;  and  come  to  you  on  his  message,  who  hath  charged  us  to 
preach;  and  be  instant  with  you  in  season  and  out  of  season,  to  lift 
up  our  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  show  you  your  transgressions  and 
your  sins.  Isa.  Iviii.  1.;  2  Tim.  iv.  1,  2.  But,  alas  I  to  the  grief 
of  our  souls  and  your  undoing,  you  slop  your  ears,  you  stiffen  your 
necks,  you  harden  your  hearts ;  and  send  us  back  to  God  with 
groans,  to  tell  him  that  we  have  done  his  message,  but  can  do  no 
good  on  you,  nor  scarcely  get  a  sober  hearing.  Oh !  that  our  eyes 
were  as  a  fountain  of  tears,  that  we  might  lament  our  ignorant 
careless  people,  that  have  Christ  before  them,  and  pardon,  and  life, 
and  heaven  before  them,  and  have  not  hearts  to  know  or  value 
them!  that  might  have  Christ,  and  grace,  and  glory,  as  well  as 
others,  if  it  were  not  for  their  wilful  negligence  and  contempt!  O 
that  the  Lord  would  fill  our  hearts  with  more  compassion  to  these 
miserable  souls,  that  we  might  cast  ourselves  even  at  their  feet, 
and  follow  them  to  their  houses,  and  speak  to  them  with  our  bitter 
tears.  For,  long  have  we  preached  to  many  of  them  in  vain.  We 
study  plainness  to  make  them  understand  ;  and  many  of  them  will 
not  understand  us ;  we  study  serious  piercing  words,  to  make  them 
feelj  but  they  will  not  feel.  If  the  greatest  matters  would  work  with 
"them,  we  should  awake  them ;  if  the  sweetest  things  would  work, 
we  should  entice  them  and  win  their  hearts ;  if  the  most  dreadful 
things  would  work,  we  should  at  least  affright  them  from  their 
wickedness  ;  if  truth  and  certainty  would  take  with  them,  we  should 
soon  convince  them;  if  the  God  that  made  them,  and  the  Christ 
that  bought  them,  might  be  heard,  the  case  would  soon  be  altered 
with  them ;  if  scripture  might  be  heard,  we  should  soon  prevail ;  if 
reason,  even  the  best  and  strongest  reason,  might  be  heard,  we 
should  not  doubt  but  we  should  speedily  convince  them ;  if  expe- 
Ttence  might  be  heard,  even  their  own  experience  and  the  experi- 
ence of  all  the  world,  the  matter  would  be  mended ;  yea,  if  the 
conscience  within  them  might  be  heard,  the  case  would  be  better 
with  them  than  it  is.  But  if  nothing  can  be  heard,  what  then  shall 
we  do  for  them?  If  the  dreadful  God  of  heaven  be  shghted,  who 
then  shall  be  regarded?  If  the  inestimable  love  and  blood  of  a 
Redeemer  be  made  light  of,  what  then  shall  be  valued  ?  If  heaven 
have  no  desirable  glory  with  them,  and  everlasting  joys  be  nothing 
worth ;  if  they  can  jest  at  hell,  and  dance  about  the  bottomless  pit, 
and  play  with  the  consuming  fire,  and  that  when  God  and  man  do 
warn  them  of  it,  what  shall  we  do  for  such  souls  as  these  ? 

Once  more,  in  the  name  of  the  God  of  heaven  I  shall  do  the 
message  to  you  which  he  hath  commanded  us,  and  leave  it  in  these 
standing  lines  to  convert  you  or  condemn  you:  Vx^' change  you,  or 
rise  up  in  judgment  against  you,  and  to  be  a  witness  to  your  faces, 
that  once  you  had  a  serious  call  to  turn.  Hear  all  you  that  are 
drudges  of'^ the  world,  and  the  servants  of  flesh  and  Satan!  that 
spend  your  days  in  looking  after  prosperity  on  earth,  and  drown 
your  conscience  in  drinking,  and  gluttony,  and  idleness,  and  foolish 
sports,  and  know  your  sin,  and  yet  will  sin,  as  if  you  set  God  at 


PREFACE.  81 

defiance,  and  bid  him  do  his  worst  and  spare  not !  Hearken,  all 
you  that  mind  not  God,  and  have  no  heart  to  holy  things,  and  feel 
no  savour  in  the  word  or  worship  of  the  Lord,  or  in  the  thoughts 
or  mention  of  eternal  Ufe;  that  are  careless  of  your  immortal  souls, 
and  never  bestow  one  hour  ia  inquiring  what  case  they  are  in, 
whether  sanctified  or  unsanctified,  and  whether  you  are  ready  to 
appear  before  the  Lord !  Hearken  all  you  that,  by  sinning  in  light, 
have  sinned  yourselves  into  infidelity,  and  do  not  believe  the  word 
of  God.  He  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear  the  gracious 
and  yet  dreadful  call  of  God !  His  eye  is  all  this  while  upon  you. 
Your  sins  are  registered,  and  you  shall  surely  hear  of  them  all 
again.  God  keepeth  the  book  now  ;  and  he  will  write  it  all  upon 
your  consciences  with  his  terrors ;  and  then  you  also  shall  keep  it 
yourselves !  O  sinnei-s,  that  you  but  knew  what  you  are  doing, 
and  whom  you  are  all  this  while  offending !  The  sun  itself  is  dark- 
ness before  the  glory  of  that  Majesty  wliich  you  daily  abuse  and 
carelessly  provoke.  The  sinning  angels  were  not  able  to  stand 
before  him,  but  were  cast  down  to  be  tormented  with  devils.  And 
dare  such  silly  worms  as  you  so  carelessly  offend,  and  set  your- 
selves against  your  Maker !  O  that  you  did  but  a  little  know  what 
case  that  wretehed  soul  is  in,  that  hath  engaged  the  living  God 
against  him !  The  word  of  his  mouth,  that  made  thee,  can  unmake 
thee ;  the  frown  of  his  face  will  cut  thee  off  and  cast  thee  out  into 
utter  darkness.  How  eager  are  the  devils  to  be  doing  with  thee 
that  have  tempted  thee,  and  do  but  wait  for  the  word  from  God  to 
take  and  use  thee  as  their  own !  and  then  in  a  moment  thou  wilt 
be  in  hell.  If  God  be  against  thee,  all  things  are  against  thee  : 
this  world  is  but  thy  prison,  for  all  thou  so  lovest  it ;  thou  art  but 
reserved  in  it  to  the  day  of  wrath  (Job  xxi.  30.) ;  the  Judge  is 
coming,  thy  soul  is  even  going.  Yet  a  httle  while,  and  thy  friend 
shall  say  of  thee,  'He  is  dead;'  and  thou  shalt  see  the  things  that 
thou  now  dost  despise,  and  feel  that  which  now  thou  wilt  not  be- 
lieve. Death  will  bring  such  an  argument  as  thou  canst  not  an- 
swer ;  an  argument  that  shall  effectually  confute  thy  cavils  against 
the  word  and  ways  of  God,  and  all  thy  self-conceited  dotages. 
And  then  how  soon  will  thy  mind  be  changed  ?  Then  be  an  un- 
believer if  thou  canst;  stand  then  to  all  thy  former  words,  which 
thou  wast  wont  to  utter  against  a  holy  and  a  heavenly  life.  Make 
good  that  cause  then  before  the  Lord,  which  thou  wast  wont  to 
plead  against  thy  teachers;  and  against  the  people  that  feared 
God.  Then  stand  to  thy  old  opinions  and  contemptuous  thoughts 
of  the  diligence  of  the  saints :  make  ready  now  thy  strongest  rea- 
sons, and  stand  up  then  before  the  Judge,  and  plead  hke  a  man 
for  thy  fleshly,  thy  worldly,  thy  ungodly  life.  But  know  that  thou 
wilt  have  one  to  plead  with,  that  will  not  be  outfaced  by  thee  ;  nor 
so  easily  put  off  as  we  thy  fellow-creatures.  O  poor  soul !  there 
is  nothing  but  a  slender  veil  of  flesh  between  thee  and  that  amazing 
sight,  which  will  quickly  silence  thee,  and  turn  thy  tone,  and  make 
thee  of  another  mind !  As  soon  as  death  hath  drawn  this  curtain, 
thou  shalt  see  that  which  will  quickly  leave  thee  speechless.  And 
how  quickly  will  that  day  and  hour  come  1    When  thou  hast  had 


S2  PREFACE. 

but  a  few  more  merry  hours,  and  but  a  few  more  pleasant  draughts 
and  morsels,  and  a  little  more  of  the  honours  and  riches  of  the 
world,  thy  portion  will  be  spent,  and  thy  pleasures  ended,  and  all 
is  then  gone  that  thou  settest  thy  heart  upon  ;  of  all  that  thou  soldest 
thy  Saviour  and  salvation  for,  there  is  nothing  left  but  the  heavy 
reckoning.  As  a  thief,  that  sits  merrily  spending  the  money  which 
he  hath  stolen,  in  an  alehouse,  when  men  are  riding  in  post  haste 
to  apprehend  him,  so  is  it  with  you.  While  you  are  drowned  in 
cares  or  fleshly  pleasures,  and  making  merry  with  your  own  shame, 
death  is  coming  in  post  haste  to  seize  upon  you,  and  carry  your 
souls  to  such  a  place  and  state  as  now  you  little  know  or  think  of. 
Suppose,  when  you  are  bold  and  busy  in  your  sin,  that  a  messen- 
ger were  but  coming  post  from  London  to  apprehend  you  and  take 
away  your  lives  ;  though  you  saw  him  not,  yet  if  you  knew  that  he 
was  coming,  it  would  mar  your  mirth,  and  you  would  be  thinking 
of  the  haste  he  makes,  and  hearkening  when  he  knocked  at  your 
door.  O  that  you  could  but  see  what  haste  Death  makes,  though 
he  has  not  yet  overtaken  you !  No  post  so  swift.  No  messenger 
more  sure.  As  sure  as  the  sun  will  be  with  you  in  the  morning, 
though  it  hath  many  thousand  and  hundred  thousand  miles  to  go 
in  the  night,  so  sure  will  Death  be  quickly  with  yon :  and  then 
where  is  your  sport  and  pleasure  ?  Then  will  you  jest  and  brave 
it  out?  Then  will  you  jeer  at  them  that  warned  you?  Then  is 
it  better  to  be  a  believing  saint  or  a  sensual  worldling?  And  then 
whose  shall  all  these  things  be  that  you  have  gathered?  Luke 
jcii.  19,  20,  2L  Do  you  not  observe  that  days  and  weeks  are 
quickly  gone,  and  nights  and  mornings  come  apace,  and  speedily 
succeed  each  other?  You  sleep,  but  your  damnation  slumbereth 
not ;  you  linger,  but  your  judgment  this  Ion?  time  lingereth  not,  to 
which  you  are  reserved  for  punishment.  2  Pet.  ii.  3,  4,  5,  8,  9.  O 
that  you  were  wise  to  understand  this,  and  that  you  did  consider 
your  latter  end  !  Deut.  xxxii.  29.  He  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear, 
let  him  hear  the  call  of  God  in  this  day  of  his  salvation. 

O  careiess  sinners !  that  you  did  but  know  the  love  that  you 
unthankfuUy  neglect,  and  the  preciousness  of  the  blood  of  Christ 
which  you  despise  I  O  that  you  did  but  know  the  riches  of  the 
gospel !  O  that  you  did  but  know,  a  littk  know,  the  certainty,  and 
tiie  glory,  and  blessedness  of  that  everlasting  life,  which  now  you 
M'ill  not  set  your  hearts  upon,  nor  be  persuaded  first  and  diligently 
to  seek.  Heb.  xi.  6,  and  xii.  28;  and  Matt.  vi.  13.  Did  you  but 
know  the  endless  life  with  God  which  you  now  neglect,  how  quickly 
would  you  cast  away  your  sm,  how  quickly  would  you  change  your 
mind  and  life,  your  course  and  company,  and  turn  the  streams  of 
your  affections,  and  lay  your  care  another  way?  How  resolutely 
would  you  scorn  to  yield  to  such  temptations  as  now  deceive  you 
and  carry  you  away  ?  How  zealously  would  you  bestir  yourselves 
for  that  most  blessed  life  ?  How  earnest  would  you  be  with  God 
in  prayer?  How  diligent  in  hearing,  and  learning,  and  inquiring? 
How  serious  in  meditating  on  the  laws  of  God?  Ps.  i.  2.  How 
feartld  of  sinning  in  thought,  word,  and  deed  ?  and  how  careful  to 
please  God  and  grow  in  hoUness  ?     O  what  a  changed  people  yoa 


PREFACE.  S3 

■would  be!  And  why  should  not  the  certain  word  of  God  be  be- 
lieved by  you,  and  prevail  with  you,  which  openeth  to  you  these 
glorious  and  eternal  things  ? 

Yea,  let  me  tell  you  that  even  here  on  earth,  you  little  know  the 
difference  between  the  life  which  you  refuse,  and  the  life  which 
you  choose  ?  The  sanctified  are  conversing  with  God,  when  you 
dare  scarce  think  of  him,  and  when  you  are  conversing  with  but 
earth  and  flesh.  Their  conversation  is  in  heaven,  when  you  are 
utter  strangers  to  it,  and  your  belly  is  your  God,  and  you  are  mind- 
ing earthly  things.  Phil.  iii.  18,  19,  20.  They  are  seeking  after 
the  face  of  God,  when  you  seek  for  nothing  higher  than  this  world. 
They  are  busily  laying  up  for  an  endless  life,  where  they  shall  be 
equal  with  the  angels,  (Luke  xx.  36.)  when  you  are  taken  up  with 
a  shadow  and  a  transitory  thing  of  nought.  How  low  and  base  is 
your  earthly,  fleshly,  sinful  life,  in  comparison  of  the  noble  and 
spiritual  life  of  true  believers  ?  Many  a  time  have  I  looked  on  such 
men  with  grief  and  pity,  to  see  them  trudge  about  the  world,  and 
spend  their  lives,  and  care,  and  labour,  for  nothing  but  a  little  food 
and  raiment,  or  a  little  fading  pelf,  or  fleshly  pleasures,  or  empty 
honours,  as  if  they  had  no  higher  things  to  mind.  What  difference 
is  there  between  the  lives  of  these  men  and  of  the  beasts  that 
perish,  that  spend  their  time  in  working,  and  eating,  and  living,  but 
that  they  may  live?  They  taste  not  of  the  inward  heavenly  plea- 
sures upon  which  believers  taste  and  live.  I  had  rather  have  a 
little  of  their  comfort,  which  the  forethoughts  of  their  heavenly  in- 
heritance afford  them,  though  I  had  all  their  scorns  and  sufferings 
with  it,  than  to  have  all  your  pleasures  and  treacherous  prosperity. 
I  would  not  have  one  of  your  secret  pangs  of  conscience,  and  dark 
and  dreadful  thoughts  of  death  and  the  life  to  come,  for  all  that 
ever  the  world  hath  done  for  you,  or  all  that  you  can  reasonably 
hope  that  it  should  do.  If  I  were  in  your  unconverted  carnal  state, 
and  knew  but  what  I  know,  and  beheve  but  what  I  now  believe, 
methinks  my  life  would  be  a  foretaste  of  hell.  How  oft  should  I 
be  thinking  of  the  terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  of  the  dismal  day  that 
is  hastening  on!  Sure  death  and  hell  would  be  still  before  me.  I 
should  think  of  them  by  day,  and  dream  of  them  by  night ;  I  should 
lie  down  in  fear,  and  rise  in  fear,  and  live  in  fear,  lest  death  should 
come  before  I  were  converted.  I  should  have  small  felicity  in  any 
thing  that  I  possessed,  and  little  pleasure  in  any  company,  and  little 
joy  in  any  thing  in  the  world,  as  long  as  I  knew  myself  to  be  under 
the  curse  and  wrath  of  God.  I  should  be  still  afraid  of  hearing 
that  voice,  Thou  fool,  this  night  shall  thy  soul  be  required  of  thee. 
Luke  xii.  20.  And  that  fearful  sentence  would  be  written  upon 
my  conscience,  There  is  no  peace,  saith  my  God,  to  the  wicked. 
Isaiah  xlviii.  22.  Ivii.  2L  O  poor  sinners!  It  is  a  more  joyful  life 
than  this,  that  you  might  live,  if  you  were  but  wiUing,  but  truly 
willing  to  hearken  to  Christ,  and  come  home  to  God.  You  might 
then  draw  near  to  God  with  boldness,  and  call  him  your  Father, 
and  comfortably  trust  him  with  your  souls  and  bodies.  If  you  look 
upon  the  promises,  you  may  say,  They  are  all  mine.  If  upon  the 
ctixsGf  you  may  say,  From  this  I  am  delivered.    When  you  read 


34  PREFACE. 

the  law,  you  may  see  what  you  are  saved  from.  When  you  read 
the  gospel,  you  may  see  him  that  redeemed  you,  and  see  the 
course  of  his  love,  and  holy  life,  and  sufferings,  and  trace  him  in 
his  temptations,  tears,  and  blood,  in  the  work  of  your  salvation. 
You  may  see  death  conquered,  and  heaven  opened,  and  your  resur- 
rection and  glorification  provided  for  in  the  resurrection  and  glori- 
fication of  the  Lord.  If  you  look  on  the  saints,  you  may  say,  They 
are  my  brethren  and  companions.  If  on  the  unsanctified,  you  may 
rejoice  to  think  that  you  are  saved  from  that  state.  If  you  look 
upon  the  heavens,  the  sun,  and  moon,  and  stars  innumerable,  you 
mav  think  and  say.  My  Father's  face  is  infinitely  more  glorious  ;  it 
is  higher  matters  that  He  hath  prepared  for  his  saints ;  yonder  is 
but  the  outward  court  of  heaven.  The  blessedness  that  He  hath 
promised  me  is  so  much  higher,  that  flesh  and  blood  .cannot  behold 
it.  If  you  think  of  the  grave,  you  may  remember  that  the  glorified 
Spirit,  a  living  Head,  and  a  loving  Father,  have  all  so  near  a  rela- 
tion to  your  dust,  that  it  cannot  be  forgotten  or  neglected,  but  will 
more  certainly  revive  than  the  plants  and  flowers  m  the  spring: 
because  that  the  soul  is  still  alive,  that  is  the  root  of  ihe  body;  and 
Christ  is  alive,  that  is  the  root  of  both.  Even  death,  which  is  the 
king  of  fears,  may  be  remembered  and  entertained  with  joy,  as 
being  the  day  of  your  dehverance  from  the  remnant  of  sin  and  sor- 
row, and  the  day  which  you  believed,  and  hoped,  and  waited  for, 
when  you  shall  see  the  blessed  things  which  you  had  heard  of,  and 
shall  find  by  present  joyful  experience  what  it  was  to  choose  the 
better  part,  and  to  be  a  sincere  believing  saint.  What  say  you, 
sir?  Is  not  this  a  more  delightful  life,  to  be  assured  of  salvation 
and  ready  to  die,  than  to  live  as  the  ungodly,  that  have  their  hearts 
overcharged  with  surfeiting  and  drunkenness,  and  the  cares  of  this 
life,  and  so  that  day  comes  upon  ihem  unawares  ?  Luke  xxi.  34, 
36.  Might  you  not  live  a  comfortable  life,  if  once  you  were  made 
the  heirs  of  heaven,  and  sure  to  be  saved  when  you  leave  the 
world  ?  O  look  about  you  then,  and  think  what  you  do,  and  cast 
not  away  such  hopes  as  these  for  very  nothing.  The  flesh  and 
world  can  give  you  no  such  hopes  or  comforts. 

And  besides  all  the  misery  that  you  bring  upon  yourselves,  you 
are  the  troublers  of  others  as  long  as  you  are  unconverted.  You 
trouble  magistrates  to  rule  you  by  their  laws;  you  trouble  minis- 
ters by  resisting  the  light  and  guidance  which  they  offer  you. 
Your  sin  and  misery  are  the  greatest  grief  and  trouble  to  them  in 
the  world.  You  trouble  the  commonwealth,  and  draw  the  judg- 
ments of  God  upon  you.  It  is  you  that  most  disturb  the  holy 
peace  and  order  of  the  churches,  and  hinder  our  union  and  refor- 
mation, and  are  the  shame  and  trouble  of  the  churches  where  you 
intrude,  and  of  the  places  where  you  are.  Ah,  Lord!  how  heavy 
and  sad  a  case  is  this,  that  even  in  England,  where  the  gospel  doth 
abound  above  any  other  nation  in  the  world,  where  teaching  is  so 
plain  and  common,  and  all  the  helps  v^e  can  desire  are  at  hand  ; 
when  the  sword  has  been  hewing  us,  and  judgment  has  run  as  a 
fire  through  the  land;  when  deliverances  have  relieved  us,  and  so 
many  admirable  mercies  have  engaged  us  to  God,  and  to  the  gos- 


PREFACE.  35 

pel,  and  a  holy  life ;  that,  after  all  this,  our  cities,  and  towns,  and 
counties,  shall  abound  with  multitudes  of  unsanctilied  men,  and 
swarm  with  so  much  sensuality,  as  every  where,  to  our  grief,  we 
see  ?  One  would  have  thought,  that  after  all  this  light,  and  all  this 
experience,  and  all  these  judgments  and  mercies  of  God,  the  peo- 
ple of  this  nation  should  have  joined  together,  as  one  man,  to  turn 
to  the  Lord,  and  should  have  come  to  their  godly  teacher,  and 
lamented  all  their  former  sins,  and  desired  him  to  join  with  them, 
in  public  humiliation,  to  confess  them  openly,  and  beg  pardon  of 
them  from  the  Lord,  and  should  have  craved  his  instruction  for  the 
time  to  come,  and  be  glad  to  be  ruled  by  the  Spirit  within,  and  the 
ministers  of  Christ  without,  according  to  the  word  of  God.  One 
would  think  that,  after  such  reason  and  Scripture  evidence  as  they 
hear,  and  after  all  these  means  and  mercies,  there  should  not  be 
an  ungodly  person  left  among  us,  nor  a  worldhng,  nor  a  drunkard, 
nor  a  hater  of  reformation,  nor  an  enemy  to  holiness,  to  be  found 
m  all  our  towns  and  counties.  If  we  be  not  all  agreed  about  some 
ceremonies  or  forms  of  government,  one  would  think  that,  before 
this,  we  should  have  been  agreed  to  live  a  holy  and  heavenly  life, 
in  obedience  to  God,  his  word,  and  ministers,  and  in  love  and  peace 
with  one  another.  But,  alas!  how  far  are  our  people  from  this 
course!  Most  of  them,  in  most  places,  do  set  their  hearts  on 
earthly  things,  and  seek  not  "  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  the 
righteousness  thereof,"  but  look  on  holiness  as  a  needless  thing: 
their  families  are  prayerless,  or  else  a  few  heartless  lifeless  words 
must  serve  instead  of  hearty  fervent  daily  prayers,  (or  perhaps  only 
on  the  Lord's  day,  in  the  evening:)  their  children  are  not  taught 
the  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  the  covenant  of  grace,  nor  brought 
up  in  the  nurture  of  the  Lord,  though  they  firmly  promised  all  this 
at  their  baptism. 

They  instruct  not  their  servants  in  the  matters  of  salvation;  but 
so  their  work  be  done,  they  care  not.  There  are  more  railing 
speeches  in  their  families  than  gracious  words  that  tend  to  edifica- 
tion. How  few  are  the  families  that  fear  the  Lord,  and  inquire  at 
his  word  and  ministers  how  they  should  live,  and  what  they  should 
do,  and  are  willing  to  be  taught  and  ruled,  and  that  heartily  look 
after  everlasting  life  !  And  those  few  that  God  hath  made  so  happy, 
are  commonly  the  by-word  of  their  neighbours.  When  we  see 
some  live  in  drunkenness,  and  some  in  pride  and  worldliness,  and 
most  of  them  have  little  care  of  their  salvation,  though  the  cause 
be  gross  and  past  all  controversy,  yet  will  they  hardly  be  convinced 
of  their  misery,  and  more  hardly  recovered  and  reformed ;  but, 
when  we  have  done  all  that  we  are  able,  to  save  them  from  their 
sins,  we  leave  the  most  of  them  as  we  find  them.  And  if^  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  God,  we  cast  them  out  of  the  communion  of  the 
church,  when  they  have  obstinately  rejected  all  our  admonitions, 
they  rage  at  us  as  if  we  were  their  enemies,  and  their  hearts  are 
filled  with  malice  against  us,  and  they  will  sooner  set  themselves 
against  the  Lord,  and  his  laws,  and  church,  and  ministers,  than 
against  their  deadly  sins.  This  is  the  dolefut  case  of  Englana; 
we  have  magistrates  that  countenance  the  ways  of  godliness,  and 


3S  PEETACE, 

a  happy  opportunity  for  unity  and  reformation  is  before  us,  and 
faithful  ministers  long  to  see  the  right  ordering  of  the  church  and 
of  the  ordinances  of  God :  but  the  power  of  sin  in  our  people  doth 
frustrate  almost  all.  No  where  almost  can  a  faithful  minister  set 
up  the  unquestionable  discipline  of  Christ,  or  put  back  the  most 
scandalous  impenitent  sinners  from  the  communion  of  the  church 
and  participation  of  the  sacraments,  but  the  most  of  the  people  rai. 
at  them  and  revile  them ;  as  if  these  ignorant  careless  souls  were 
wiser  than  their  teachers,  or  than  God  himself.  And  thus,  in  the 
day  of  our  visitation,  when  God  calls  upon  us  to  reform  his  church, 
though  magistrates  seem  wiUing,  and  faithful  ministers  seem  will- 
ing, yet  are  the  multitude  of  the  people  still  unwilling,  and  have  so 
blinded  themselves,  and  hardened  their  hearts,  that,  even  in  these 
days  of  light  and  grace,  they  are  the  obstinate  enemies  of  light  and 
grace,  and  will  not  be  brought  by  the  calls  of  God  to  see  their  folly, 
and  know  what  is  for  their  good.  O  that  the  people  of  England 
knew  at  least  in  this  their  day,  the  things  that  belong  unto  then- 
peace,  before  they  are  hid  from  their  eyes !     Luke  xix.  42. 

O  foohsh  miserable  souls!  Gal.  iii.  1.  Who  hath  bewitched 
your  minds  iiAo  such  madness,  and  your  hearts  unto  such  dead- 
ness,  that  you  should  be  such  mortal  enemies  to  yourselves,  and  go 
on  so  obstinately  towards  damnation,  that  neither  the  word  of  God, 
nor  the  persuasions  of  men,  can  change  your  minds,  or  hold  your 
hands,  or  stop  you,  till  you  are  past  remedy!  Well,  sinners  !  this 
life  will  not  last  always ;  this  patience  will  not  wait  upon  you  still. 
Do  not  think  that  you  shall  abuse  your  Maker  and  Redeemer,  and 
serve  his  enemies,  and  debase  your  souls,  and  trouble  the  world, 
and  wrong  the  church,  and  reproach  the  godly,  and  grieve  your 
teachers,  and  hinder  reformation,  and  all  this  upon  free  cost.  You 
know  not  yet  what  this  must  cost  you,  but  you  must  shortly  know, 
when  the  righteous  God  shall  take  you  in  hand,  who  will  handle 
you  in  another  manner  than  the  sharpest  magistrates  or  the  plainest 
dealing  pastors  did,  unless  you  prevent  the  everlasting  torments, 
by  a  sound  conversion  and  a  speedy  obeying  of  the  call  of  God. 
"  He  that  hath  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear,"  while  mercy  hath  a 
voice  to  call. 

One  objection  I  find  most  common  in  the  mouths  of  the  ungodly, 
especially  of  late  years ;  they  say,  '  We  can  do  nothing  without 
God,  we  canned  have  grace,  if  God  will  not  give  it  us ;  and,  if  he 
will,  we  shall  quickly  turn ;  if  he  have  not  predestinated  us,  and 
will  not  turn  us,  how  can  we  turn  ourselves,  or  be  saved  ?  It  is 
not  in  him  that  wills  nor  in  him  that  runs.'  And  thus  they  think 
they  are  excused. 

I  have  answered  this  formerly,  and  in  this  book ;  but  let  me  now 
say  this  much.  1.  Though  you  Ccumot  cure  yourselves,  you  can 
hurt  and  poison  yourselves.  It  is  God  that  must  sanctify  your 
hearts ;  but  who  corrupted  them  ?  Will  you  wilfully  take  poison, 
because  you  cannot  cure  yourselves  ?  Methinks  you  should  the 
more  forbear  it.  You  should  the  more  take  heed  of  sinning,  if  you 
cannot  mend  what  sin  doth  mar.  2.  Though  you  cannot  be  con- 
verted without  the  special  grace  of  God,  yet  you  must  know  that 


PREFACE.  37 

God  give'h  his  grace  in  the  use  of  his  holy  means  which  he  hath 
appointed  to  that  end  ;  and  common  grace  may  enable  you  to  for- 
bear your  gross  sinning  (as  to  the  outward  act)  and  to  use  those 
means.  Can  you  truly  say,  that  you  do  as  much  as  you  are  able 
to  do?  Are  you  not  able  to  go  by  an  alehouse  door,  or  to  forbear 
the  company  that  hardeneth  you  in  sin  ?  Are  you  not  able  to  hear 
the  word,  and  think  of  what  you  heard  when  you  come  home,  and 
to  consider  with  yourselves  of  your  own  condition  and  of  ever- 
lasting things?  Are  you  not  able  to  read  good  books  from  day  to 
day,  at  least  on  the  Lord's  day,  and  to  converse  with  those  that 
fear  the  Lord?  You  cannot  say  that  you  have  done  what  you  are 
able.  3.  And  therefore  you  must  know  that  you  can  forfeit  the 
grace  and  help  of  God  by  your  wilful  sinning  or  negligence,  though 
you  cannot,  without  grace,  turn  to  God.  if  you  will  not  do  wjiat 
you  can,  it  is  just  with  God  to  deny  you  that  grace  by  which  you 
might  do  more.  4.  And.  for  God's  decrees,  you  must  know  that 
they  separate  not  the  end  and  means,  but  tie  them  together.  God 
never  decreed  to  save  any  but  the  sanctified,  nor  to  damn  any  but 
the  unsanctified.  God  doth  as  truly  decree  whether  your  land 
this  year  shall  be  barren  or  fruitful,  and  just  how  long  you  shall 
live  in  the  world,  as  he  hath  decreed  whether  you  shall  be  saved 
or  not;  and  yet  you  would  think  that  man  but  a  fool  that  would 
forbear  ploughing  and  sowing,  and  say,  'If  God  hath  decreed  that 
my  ground  shall  bear  corn,  it  will  bear,  whether  I  plough  and  sow 
or  not.  If  God  have  decreed  that  I  shall  live,  I  shall  live,  whether 
I  eat  or  not;  but,  if  he  have  not,  it  is  not  eating  that  will  keep  me 
alive.'  Do  you  know  how  to  answer  such  a  man,  or  do  you  not  ? 
If  you  do,  then  you  know  how  to  answer  yourselves  ;  for,  the  case 
is  alike :  God's  decree  is  as  peremptory  about  your  bodies  as  your 
souls ;  if  you  do  not,  then  try  first  these  conclusions  upon  your 
bodies,  before  you  venture  to  try  them  on  your  souls :  see  first 
whether  God  will  keep  you  alive  without  food  or  raiment,  and 
whether  he  will  give  you  corn  without  tillage  and  labour,  and 
whether  he  will  bring  you  to  your  journey's  end  without  your  travel 
or  carriage  ;  and  if  you  speed  well  in  this,  then  try  whether  he 
will  bring  you  to  heaven  without  your  diligent  use  of  means,  and 
sit  down  and  say.  We  cannot  sanctify  ourselves. 

Well,  sirs,  I  have  but  three  requests  to  you,  and  I  have  done. 

First,  That  you  will  seriously  read  over  this  small  treatise  ;  and, 
if  you  have  such  as  need  it  in  your  families,  that  you  would  read  it 
over  and  over  to  them ;  and  if  those  that  fear  God  would  go  now 
and  then  to  their  ignorant  neighbours,  and  read  this  or  some  other 
book  to  them  of  this  subject,  they  might  be  a  means  of  winning 
souls.  If  we  cannot  entreat  so  small  a  labour  of  men  for  their 
own  salvation,  as  to  read  such  short  instructions  as  these,  they  set 
little  by  themselves,  and  will  most  justly  perish. 

Secondly,  When  you  have  read  over  this  book,  I  would  entreat 
you  to  go  alone  and  ponder  a  little  what  you  have  read,  and  be- 
think you,  as  in  the  sight  of  God,  whether  it  be  not  true,  and  do 
not  nearly  touch  your  souls,  and  whether  it  be  not  time  to  look 
about  you.     And  also  entreat  you,  that  you  will  upon  your  knees 

4 


38  PREFACE. 

beseech  the  Lord  that  he  will  open  your  eyes  to  understand  the 
truth,  and  turn  your  hearts  to  the  love  of  God,  and  beg  of  him  all 
that  saving  grace  which  you  have  so  long  neglected,  and  follow  it 
on  from  day  to  day,  till  your  hearts  be  changed.  And  withal,  that 
you  will  go  to  your  pastors,  (that  are  set  over  ycu  to  take  rare  of 
the  health  and  safety  of  your  souls,  as  physicians  do  for  the  health 
of  your  bodies,)  and  desire  them  to  direct  you  what  course  to  take, 
and  acquaint  them  with  your  spiritual  estate,  that  you  may  have 
the  benefit  of  their  advice  and  ministerial  help. 

Or,  if  you  have  not  a  faithful  pastor  at  home,  make  use  of  some 
other  in  so  great  a  need. 

Thirdly,  When,  by  reading,  consideration,  prayer,  and  minis- 
terial advice,  you  are  once  acquainted  with  your  sin  and  misery, 
with  your  duty  and  remedy,  delay  not,  but  presently  forsake  your 
sinful  company  and  courses,  and  turn  to  God,  and  obey  his  call. 
As  you  love  your  souls,  take  heed  that  ye  go  not  on  against  so 
loud  a  call  of  God,  and  against  your  own  knowledge  and  con- 
science, lest  it  go  worse  with  you  in  the  day  of  judgment  than  with 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah.  Inquire  of  God,  as  a  man  tiiat  is  willing 
to  know  the  truth,  and  not  be  a  wilful  cheater  of  his  soul.  Search 
the  holy  Scriptures  daily,  and  see  whether  these  things  be  so  or 
not:  try  impartially  whether  it  be  safer  to  trust  heaven  or  earth, 
and  whether  it  be  better  to  follow  God  or  man,  the  Spirit  or  the 
flesh,  and  better  to  live  in  holiness  or  sin,  and  whether  an  unsanc- 
tified  state  be  safe  for  you  to  abide  in  one  day  longer;  and  when 
you  have  foimd  out  which  is  best,  resolve  accordingly,  and  make 
your  choice  without  any  more  ado.  If  you  will  be  true  to  your 
own  souls,  and  do  not  love  everlasting  torments,  I  beseech  you,  as 
from  the  Lord,  that  you  will  but  take  this  reasonable  advice.  O 
what  happy  towns  and  counties,  and  what  a  happy  nation  might 
we  have,  if  we  could  but  persuade  our  neighbours  to  agree  to  such 
a  necessary  motion !  What  joyful  men  would  all  faithful  ministers 
be,  if  they  could  but  see  their  people  truly  heavenly  and  holy  ;  this 
would  be  the  unity,  the  peace,  the  safety,  the  glory,  of  our  churches  ; 
the  happiness  of  our  neighbours,  and  the  comfort  of  our  souls. 
Then  how  comfortably  should  we  preach  pardon  and  peace  to  you, 
and  deliver  the  sacraments,  which  are  the  seals  of  peace  to  you! 
And  with  what  love  and  joy  might  we  live  among  you !  At  your 
deathbed  how  boldly  might  we  comfort  and  encourage  your  de- 

f)arting  souls !  And  at  your  burial,  how  comfortably  might  we 
eave  you  in  the  grave,  in  expectation  to  meet  your  souls  in  heaven, 
and  to  see  your  bodies  raised  to  that  glory ! 

But,  if  still  the  most  of  you  will  go  on  in  a  careless,  ignorant, 
fleshly,  worldly,  or  unholy  life,  and  all  our  desires  and  labours 
cannot  so  far  prevail  as  to  keep  you  from  the  wilful  damnmg  of 
yourselves,  we  must  then  imitate  our  Lord,  who  delighteth  himself 
m  those  few  that  are  jewels,  and  in  a  little  flock  that  shall  receive 
the  kingdom,  when  the  most  shall  reap  the  misery  which  they 
sowed.  In  nature,  excellent  things  are  few.  The  world  hath  not 
many  suns,  or  moons ;  it  is  but  a  little  of  the  earth  that  is  gold  or 
silver.    Princes  and  nobles  are  but  a  small  part  of  the  sons  of  men* 


PREFACE.  39 

and  it  is  no  great  number  thart  are  learned,  judicious,  or  wise,  here 
in  this  world.  And,  therefore,  if  the  gate  being  strait  and  very 
narrow,  there  be  but  few  that  find  salvation,  yet  God  will  have  his 
glory  and  pleasure  in  those  few.  And,  when  Christ  shall  come 
with  his  mighty  angels  in  flaming  fire,  taking  vengeance  on  them 
that  know  not  God,  and  obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  his  coming  will  be  glorified  in  his  saints,  and  admired  in  all 
true  believers.     2  Thess.  i.  7,  8,  9,  10. 

And  for  the  rest,  as  God  the  Father  vouchsafed  to  create  them, 
and  God  the  Son  disdained  not  to  bear  the  penalty  o  their  sins 
upon  the  cross,  and  did  not  judge  such  sufferings  in  vain,  though 
he  knew  that  by  refusing  the  sanctification  of  the  Holy  Ghost  they 
would  finally  destroy  themselves,  so  we,  that  are  his  ministers, 
though  these  be  not  gathered,  judge  not  our  labour  wholly  lost. 
See  Isa.  xlix.  5. 

Reader,  I  have  done  with  thee,  when  thou  hast  perused  this 
book ;  but  sin  hath  not  yet  done  with  thee,  even  those  that  thou 
thoughtest  had  been  forgotten  long  ago,  and  Satan  hath  not  yet 
done  with  thee,  though  now  he  be  out  of  sight,  and  God  hath  not 
yet  done  with  thee,  because  thou  wilt  not  be  persuaded  to  have 
done  with  the  deadly  reigning  sin.  I  have  written  thee  this  per- 
suasive, as  one  that  is  going  into  another  world,  where  the  things 
are  seen  that  I  here  speak  of,  and  as  one  that  knoweth  thou  must 
be  shortly  there  thyself.  As  ever  thou  wilt  meet  me  with  comfort 
before  the  Lord  that  made  us ;  as  ever  thou  wilt  escape  the  ever- 
lasting plagues  prepared  for  the  final  neglect ers  of  salvation,  and 
for  all  that  are  not  sanctified  by  the  Holy  Ghost;  and  love  not  the 
communion  of  the  saints  as  members  of  the  holy  catholic  church; 
and  as  ever  thou  hopest  to  see  the  face  of  Christ  the  Judge,  and 
of  the  majesty  of  the  Father,  with  peace  and  comfort,  and  to  be 
received  into  glory  when  thou  art  turned  naked  out  of  this  world ; 
I  beseech  thee,  I  charge  thee,  to  hear  and  obey  the  Call  of  God, 
and  resolvedly  to  turn,  that  thou  mayst  live.  But,  if  thou  wilt 
not,  even  when  thou  hast  no  true  reason  for  it,  but  because  thou 
wilt  not,  I  summon  thee  to  answer  it  before  the  Lord,  and  require 
thee  there  to  bear  me  witness  that  I  gave  thee  warning,  and  that 
thou  wast  not  condemned  for  want  of  a  call  to  turn  and  live,  but 
because  thou  wouldst  not  believe  it,  and  obey  it ;  which  also  must 
be  the  testimony  of 

Thy  seriouis  Monitor, 

RICHARD  BAXTER. 

December  11.  1657. 


A  CALL 

TO    THE    UNCONVERTED. 


EZEKIEL   XXXIII.  11. 

Say  unto  them,  As  I  live,  saith  the  Lord  God,  I  have,  no  pleasure 
ill  the  death  of  the  xoicked;  but  that  the  wicked  turn  from 
his  way  and  live  :  turn  ye,  turn  ye,  from  your  evil  ways  ;  for 
•why  will  ye  die,  0  house  of  Israel  ? 

It  hath  been  the  astonishing  wonder  of  many  a  man 

ss  well  as  me,  to  read  in  the  holy  Scriptures  how  few 
will  be  saved,  and  that  the  greatest  part  even  of  those 
that  are  called,  will  be  everlastingly  shut  out  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven,  and  be  tormented  with  the  devils 
in  eternal  fire.  Infidels  believe  not  this  when  they  read 
it,  and  therefore  they  must  feel  it;  those  that  do  be- 
lieve it,  are  forced  to  cry  out  with  Paul,  (Rom.  xi.  13,) 
"  O,  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the  wisdom  and 
knowledge  of  God!  How  unsearchable  are  his  judg- 
ments, and  his  ways  past  finding  out  1"  But  nature 
itself  doth  teach  us  all  to  lay  the  blame  of  evil  works 
upon  the  doers  ;  and  therefore  when  we  see  any  hei- 
nous thing  done,  a  principle  of  justice  doth  provoke 
us  to  inquire  after  hkn  that  did  it,  that  the  evil  of  the 
work  may  return  the  evil  of  shame  upon  the  author. 
If  we  saw  a  man  killed  and  cut  in  pieces  by  ihe  way, 
we  would  presently  ask.  Oh !  who  did  this  cruel  deed.' 
If  the  town  was  wilfully  set  on  fire,  j^ou  would  ask, 
what  wicked  wretch  did  this  .''  So  when  we  read  that 
many  souls  will  be  miserable  in  hell  for  ever,  we  must 
needs  think  with  ourselves,  how  comes  this  tc  pass  ■* 

4* 


45  A  CALL   TO 

and  whose  fault  is  it  ?  Who  is  it  that  is  so  cruel  as  to 
be  the  cause  of  such  a  thing  as  this?  and  we  can  meet 
with  few  that  will  own  the  guilt.  It  is  indeed  con- 
fessed by  all,  that  Satan  is  the  cau5e ;  but  that  doth 
not  resolve  the  doubt,  because  he  is  not  the  principal 
cause.  He  doth  not  force  men  to  sin,  but  tempts  them 
to  it,  and  leaves  it  to  their  own  wills  whether  they  will 
do  it  or  not.  He  doth  not  carry  men  to  an  alehouse 
and  force  open  their  mouths  and  pour  in  the  drink ; 
nor  doth  he  hold  them  that  they  cannot  go  to  God's 
service ;  nor  doth  he  force  their  hearts  from  holy 
thoughts.  It  lieth  therefore  between  God  himself  and 
the  sinner ;  one  of  them  must  needs  be  the  principal 
cause  of  all  this  misery,  whichever  it  is,  for  there  is  no 
other  to  lay  it  upon  ;  and  God  disclaimeth  it ;  he  w^ill 
not  take  it  upon  him ;  and  the  wicked  disclaim  it 
usually,  and  they  will  not  take  it  upon  them,  and  this 
is  the  controversy  that  is  here  managing  in  my  text. 

The  Lord  complaineth  of  the  people ;  and  the  peo 
pie  think  it  is  the  fault  of  God.  The  same  contro- 
versy is  handled,  chap,  xviii.  25 ;  they  plainly  say, 
"  that  the  way  of  the  Lord  is  not  equal."  So  here 
they  say,  verse  19,  "  If  our  transgressions  and  our  sins 
be  upon  us,  and  we  pine  awa}'^  in  them,  how  shall  we 
then  live  ?"  As  if  they  should  say,  if  we  must  die, 
and  be  miserable,  how  can  we  help  it ;  as  if  it  were 
not  their  fault  but  God's.  But  God,  in  my  text,  doth 
clear  himself  of  it,  and  telleth  them  how  they  may 
help  it  if  they  will,  and  persuadeth  them  to  use  the 
means,  and  if  they  will  not  be  persuaded,  he  lets  them 
know  that  it  is  the  fault  of  themselves ;  and  if  this  will 
not  satisfy  them,  he  w^ill  not  forbear  to  punish  them. 
It  is  he  that  will  be  the  Judge,  and  he  will  judge  them 
according  to  their  ways  ;  they  are  no  judge  of  him  or 
of  themselves,  as  wanting  authority,  and  wisdom,  and 
impartiality,  nor  is  it  the  cavilling  and  quarrelling  with 
God  that  shall  serve  their  turn,  or  save  them  from  the 
execution  of  justice  at  which  they  murmur. 

The  words  of  this  verse  contain,  1.  God's  purgation 
or  clearmg  himself  from  the  blame  of  their  destruction- 
This  he  doth  not  by  disowning  his  law  that  the  wicked 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  45 

shall  die,  nor  by  disowning  his  judgments  and  execu- 
tion according  to  that  law,  or  giving  them  any  hope 
that  the  law  shall  not  be  executed ;  but  by  professing 
that  it  is  not  their  death  that  he  takes  pleasure  in,  but 
their  returning  rather,  that  they  may  live ;  and  this  he 
confirmeth  to  them  by  his  oath.  2  An  express  exhor- 
tation to  the  wicked  to  return  ;  wherein  God  doth  not 
only  command,  but  persuade  and  condescend  also  to 
reason  the  case  with  them.  Why  will  they  die  ?  The 
direct  end  of  this  exhortation  is,  that  they  may  turn 
and  live.  The  secondary  or  reserved  ends,  upon  sup- 
position that  this  is  not  attained,  are  these  two :  First, 
To  convince  them  by  the  means  which  he  used,  that  it 
is  not  the  fault  of  God  if  they  be  miserable.  Secondly, 
To  convince  them  from  their  manifest  wilfulness  in 
rejecting  all  his  commands  and  persuasions,  that  it  is 
the  fault  of  themselves,  and  they  die,  even  because  they 
will  die. 

The  substance  of  the  text  doth  lie  in  these  observa- 
tions following : — 

Doctrine  1.  It  is  the  unchangeable  law  of  God,  that 
wicked  men  must  turn  or  die. 

Doctrine  2.  It  is  the  promise  of  God,  that  the  wick- 
ed shall  live,  if  they  will  but  turn. 

Doctrine  3.  God  takes  pleasure  in  men's  conversion 
and  salv^ation,  but  not  in  their  death  or  damnation  :  he 
had  rather  they  would  return  and  live,  than  go  on  and 
die. 

Doctrine  4.  This  is  a  most  certain  truth,  which 
because  God  would  not  have  men  to  question,  he  hath 
confirmed  it  to  them  solemnly  by  his  oath. 

Doctrine  5.  The  Lord  doth  redouble  his  commands 
and  persuasions  to  the  wicked  to  turn. 

Doctrine  6.  The  Lord  condescendeth  to  reason  the 
case  with  them  ;  and  asketh  the  wicked  why  they  will 
die  ? 

Doctrine  7.  If  after  all  this  the  wicked  will  not  turn, 
it  is  not  the  fault  of  God  that  they  perish,  but  of  tbem- 
selves ;  their  own  wilfulness  is  the  cause  of  their  own 
*^^'*n\aation  ;  they  therefore  die  because  they  will  die. 


.~v,i 


44  A    CALL    TO 

Having  laid  the  text  open  in  these  propositions,  I 
shall  next  speak  somewhat  of  each  of  them  in  order, 
though  very  briefly. 

Doctrine  1.     It  is  the  unchangeable  law  of  God,  that 
wicked  men  must  turn,  or  die. 

If  you  will  believe  God,  believe  this :  there  is  but 
one  of  these  two  ways  for  every  wicked  man,  either 
conversion  or  damnation.  I  know  the  wicked  will 
hardly  be  persuaded  either  of  the  truth  or  equity  of 
this.  No  wonder  if  the  guilty  quarrel  with  the  law. 
Few  men  are  apt  to  believe  that  which  they  would  not 
have  to  be  true,  and  fewer  would  have  that  to  be  true 
which  they  apprehend  to  be  against  them.  But  it  is 
not  quarrelling  with  the  law,  or  with  the  judge,  that 
will  save  the  malefactor.  Believing  and  regarding  the 
law  might  have  prevented  his  death  ;  but  denying  and 
accusing  it  will  but  hasten  it.  If  it  were  not  so,  a 
hundred  would  bring  their  reason  against  the  law,  for 
one  that  would  bring  his  reason  to  the  law,  and  men 
would  rather  choose  to  give  their  reasons  why  they 
should  not  be  punished,  than  to  hear  the  commands 
and  reasons  of  their  governors  which  require  them  to 
obey.  The  law  was  not  made  for  you  to  judge,  but 
that  you  might  be  ruled  and  judged  by  it. 

But  if  there  be  any  so  blind  as  to  venture  to  ques- 
tion either  the  truth  or  the  justice  of  this  law  of  God, 
I  shall  briefly  give  you  that  evidence  of  both,  which, 
methinks,  should  satisfy  a  reasonable  man. 

And  first,  if  you  doubt  whether  this  be  the  word 
of  God,  or  not,  besides  a  hundred  other  texts,  you 
may  be  satisfied  by  these  few : — Matt,  xviii.  3.  "  Veri- 
ly I  say  unto  you,  except  ye  be  converted  and  become 
as  little  children,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."  John  iii.  3.  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto  you, 
except  a  man  be  born  again,  he  cannot  see  the  king- 
dom of  God."  2  Cor.  v.  17.  "  If  any  man  be  in 
Christ,  he  is  a  new  creature ;  old  things  are  passed 
away ;  behold,  all  things  are  become  new."  Col.  iii. 
9,  10.     "  Ye  have  put  off  the  old  man  with  his  deeds, 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  4S 

and  have  put  on  the  new  man,  which  is  renewed  in 
knowledge  after  the  image  of  him  that  created  him." 
Heb.  xii.  14.  "  Without  holiness,  none  shall  see  God." 
Rom.  viii.  8,  9.  "  So  then  they  that  are  in  the  flesh 
cannot  please  God.  Now  if  any  man  have  not  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of  his."  Gal.  vi.  15.  "  For 
in  Christ  Jesus  neither  circumcision  availeth  any  thing, 
nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new  creature."  1  Pet.  i.  3. 
"  According  to  his  abundant  grace  he  hath  begotten  us 
to  a  hvely  hope."  Ver.  23.  "  Being  born  again,  not 
of  corruptible  seed,  but  of  incorruptible,  by  the  word 
of  God,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever."  1  Pet.  ii. 
1,  2.  "  Wherefore  laying  aside  all  malice,  and  all  guile, 
and  hypocrisies,  and  envies,  and  evil  speaking,  as  new 
born  babes  desire  the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  that  ye 
may  grow  thereby."  Psalm  ix.  17.  "  The  wicked  shall 
be  turned  into  hell,  and  all  the  nations  that  forget  God." 
Psalm  xi.  4.  "  And  the  Lord  loveth  the  righteous, 
but  the  wicked  his  soul  hateth." 

As  I  need  not  stay  to  open  these  texts  which  are  so 
plain,  so  I  think  I  need  not  add  any  more  of  that  multi- 
tude which  speak  the  like.  If  thou  be  a  man  that  dost 
believe  the  word  of  God,  here  is  already  enough  to  sa- 
tisfy thee,  that  the  wicked  must  be  converted  or  con- 
demned. You  are  already  brought  so  far,  that  you 
must  either  confess  that  this  is  true,  or  say  plainly,  you 
will  not  beheve  the  word  of  God.  And  if  once  you 
be  come  to  that  pass,  there  is  but  small  hopes  of  you : 
look  to  yourselves  as  well  as  you  can,  for  it  is  like  you 
will  not  be  long  out  of  hell.  You  would  be  ready  to 
fly  in  the  face  of  him  that  should  give  you  the  lie  ;  and 
yet  dare  you  give  the  lie  to  God  ?  But  if  you  tell  God 
plainly  you  will  not  believe  him,  blame  him  not  if  he 
never  warn  you  more,  or  if  he  forsake  you,  and  give 
you  up  as  hopeless ;  for  to  what  purpose  should  he 
warn  you,  if  you  will  not  believe  him  ?  Should  he  send 
an  angel  from  heaven  to  you,  it  seems  you  would  not 
believe.  For  an  angel  can  speak  but  the  word  of  God  ; 
and  if  an  angel  should  bring  you  any  other  gospel,  you 
are  not  to  receive  it,  but  to  hold  liim  accursed.  Gal.  i. 
8.  And  surely  there  is  no  angel  to  be  believed  before  the 


46  A   CALL   TO 

Son  of  God,  who  came  from  the  Father  to  bring  us  this 
doctrine.  If  he  be  not  to  be  believed,  then  all  the  angels 
in  heaven  are  not  to  be  beheved.  And  if  you  stand  on 
these  terms  with  God,  I  shall  leave  you  till  he  deal 
"with  you  in  a  more  convincing  wa3^  God  hath  a  voice 
that  will  make  you  hear.  Though  he  entreat  you  to 
hear  the  v^oice  of  his  gospel,  he  will  make  you  hear  the 
voice  of  his  condemning  sentence,  -without  entreaty. 
We  cannot  make  you  believe  against  your  wills  ;  but 
God  will  make  you  feel  against  your  wills. 

But  let  us  hear  what  reason  you  liave  why  you  will 
not  believe  this  word  of  God,  which  tells  us  that  the 
wicked  must  be  converted,  or  condemned.  I  know 
your  reason  ;  it  is  because  that  you  judge  it  unhkely 
that  God  should  be  so  unmerciful :  you  think  it  cruelty 
to  damn  men  everlastingly  for  so  small  a  thing  as  a  sinful 
Hfe.  And  this  leads  us  to  the  second  thing,  which  is  to 
justify  the  equity  of  God  in  his  laAvs  and  judgments. 

And  first,  I  think  you  w^ill  not  deny  but  that  it  is 
most  suitable  to  an  immortal  soul,  to  be  ruled  by  laws 
that  promise  an  immortal  rew^ard,  and  threaten  an  end- 
less punishment.  Otherwise  the  law  should  not  be 
suited  to  the  nature  of  the  subject,  who  will  not  be 
fully  ruled  by  any  lower  means  than  the  hopes  or  fears 
of  everlasting  things :  as  it  is  in  cases  of  temporal 
punishment,  if  a  law  were  now  made  that  the  most 
heinous  crimes  shall  be  punished  with  a  hundred  ^^ears' 
captivity,  this  might  be  of  some  efficacy,  as  being  equal 
to  our  lives.  But,  if  there  had  been  no  other  penalties 
before  the  flood,  when  men  lived  eight  or  nine  hundred 
years,  it  would  not  have  been  sufficient,  because  men 
would  know  that  they  might  have  so  many  hundred 
years'  impunity  afterwards.  So  it  is  in  our  present 
case. 

2.  I  suppose  that  you  will  confess,  that  the  promise 
of  an  endless  and  inconceivable  glory  is  not  so  unsuita- 
ble to  the  wisdom  of  God,  or  the  case  of  nTan:  and  why 
then  should  you  not  think  so  of  the  threatemng  of  an 
endless  and  unspeakable  misery  ! 

3.  When  you  find  it  in  the  word  of  God  that  so  it  is, 
and  so  it  will  be,  do  ye  think  yourselves  fit  to  contra- 


THE    UNCONVERTED,  47 

diet  this  word  ?  Will  you  call  your  Maker  to  the  bar, 
and  examine  his  word  upon  the  accusation  of  false- 
hood ?  Will  you  sit  upon  him,  and  judge  him  by  the 
law  of  your  conceits  ?  Are  you  wiser,  and  better,  and 
more  righteous  than  he?  Must  the  God  of  heaven 
come  to  school  to  you  to  learn  wisdom  ?  Must  Infinite 
Wisdom  learn  of  folly,  and  Infinite  Goodness  be  cor 
rected  by  a  swinish  sinner,  that  cannot  keep  himself 
an  hour  clean  ?  Must  the  Almighty  stand  at  the  bar  of 
a  worm?  O  horrid  arrogancy  of  senseless  dust!  shall 
ever  mole,  or  clod,  or  dunghill,  accuse  the  sun  of 
darkness,  and  undertake  to  illuminate  the  world  ? 
Where  were  you  when  the  Almighty  made  the  laws, 
that  he  did  not  call  you  to  his  council?  Surely  he 
made  them  before  you  were  born,  without  desiring 
your  advice ;  and  you  came  into  the  world  too  late  to 
reverse  them,  if  you  could  have  done  so  great  a  work. 
You  should  have  stepped  oui  of  your  nothingness  and 
have  contradicted  Christ  when  he  was  on  earth,  or 
Moses  before  him,  or  have  saved  Adam  and  his  sinful 
progeny  from  the  threatened  death,  that  so  there  might 
have  been  no  need  of  Christ.  And  what  if  God  with- 
draw his  patience  and  sustaining  power,  and  let  you 
drop  into  hell  while  you  are  quarrelling  with  his  word, 
will  you  then  believe  that  there  is  a  hell  ? 

4.  If  sin  be  such  an  evil  that  it  requireth  the  death 
of  Christ  for  its  expiation,  no  wonder  if  it  deserve  our 
everlasting  misery. 

5.  And  if  the  sin  of  the  devils  deserved  an  endless 
torment,  why  not  also  the  sin  of  man? 

6.  And  methinks  you  should  perceive  that  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  best  of  men,  much  less  for  the  wicked, 
to  be  competent  judges  of  the  desert  of  sin.  Alas  I  we 
are  both  blind  and  partial.  You  can  never  know  fully 
the  desert  of  sin,  till  you  fully  know  the  evil  of  sin  ;  and 
you  can  never  fully  know  the  evil  of  sin,  till  you  fully 
know,  1.  The  excellency  of  the  soul  which  it  deform- 
eth.  2.  And  the  excellency  of  holiness  which  it  obli- 
terates. 3.  The  reason  and  excellency  of  the  law 
which  it  violates.  4.  The  excellency  of  the  glory 
which  it   despises.     5.  The  excellency  and  office  of 


4S  A    CALL   TO 

reason  which  it  treadeth  down.  6.  No,  nor  till  you 
know  the  infinite  excellency,  almightiness  and  holinesa 
of  that  God  against  whom  it  is  committed.  When 
you  fully  know  all  these,  you  shall  fully  know  the 
desert  of  sin  besides.  You  knoAv  that  the  offender  is 
too  partial  to  judge  the  law,  or  the  proceeding  of  his 
judge.  We  judge  by  feeling,  which  blinds  our  reason. 
We  see,  in  common  worldly  things,  that  most  men 
think  the  cause  is  right  which  is  their  own,  and  that  all 
is  wrong  that  is  done  against  them ;  and  let  the  most 
wise  or  just  impartial  friends  persuade  them  to  the 
contrary,  and  it  is  all  in  vain.  There  are  few  children 
but  think  the  father  is  unmerciful,  or  dealeth  hardly 
with  them,  if  he  whip  them.  There  is  scarce  the  vilest 
wretch  but  thinketh  the  church  doth  wnmg  him  if  they 
excommunicate  him :  or  scarce  a  thief  or  murderer 
that  is  hanged,  but  would  accuse  the  law  and  judge  of 
cruelty,  if  that  would  serve  their  turn. 

7.  Can  you  think  that  an  unholy  soul  is  fit  for  hea- 
ven ?  Alas,  they  cannot  love  God  here,  nor  do  him  any 
service  which  he  can  accept.  They  are  contrary  to 
God  ;  they  loathe  that  which  he  most  loveth,  and  love 
that  which  he  abhorreth.  They  are  incapable  of  that 
imperfect  communion  with  him  which  his  saints  here 
partake  of  How  then  can  they  live  in  that  perfect  love 
of  him,  and  full  delights  and  communion  with  him, 
which  IS  the  blessedness  of  heaven?  Ye  do  not  accuse 
yourselves  of  unmercifulness,  if  you  make  not  your 
enemy  your  bosom  counsellor;  or  if  you  take  not  your 
swine  to  bed  and  board  with  you  :  no,  nor  if  you  take 
away  his  life,  though  he  never  sinned  ;  and  yet  you  will 
blame  the  absolute  Lord,  the  most  wise  and  gracious 
Sovereign  of  the  world,  if  he  condemn  the  unconverted 
to  perpetual  misery. 

Use. — I  beseech  you  now,  all  that  love  your  souls, 
that,  instead  of  quarrelling  with  God  and  with  his 
word,  you  will  presently  stoop  to  it,  and  use  it  for  your 
good.  All  you  that  are  yet  unconverted  in  this  assem- 
bly, take  this  as  the  undoubted  truth  of  God  : — You 
must,  ere  long,  be  converted  or  condemned ;  there  is 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  4^ 

no  other  way  but  to  turn  or  die.  When  God,  that 
cannot  lie,  hath  told  you  this  ;  when  you  hear  it  from 
the  Maker  and  Judge  of  the  world,  it  is  lime  for  him 
that  hath  ears  to  hear.  By  this  time  you  may  see  what 
you  have  to  trust  to.  You  are  but  dead  and  damned 
men,  except  you  will  be  converted.  Should  I  tell  you 
otherwise,  I  should  deceive  you  with  a  he.  Should  I 
hide  this  from  you,  I  should  undo  you,  and  be  guilty  of 
your  blood,  as  the  verses  before  my  text  assure  me. 
Verse  8.  ''•  When  I  say  to  the  wicked  man,  O  wicked 
man,  thou  shalt  surely  die  ;  if  thou  dost  not  speak  to 
warn  the  wicked  from  his  way,  that  wicked  man  shall 
die  in  his  iniquity  ;  but  his  blood  will  I  require  at  thine 
hand."  You  see,  then,  though  this  be  a  rough  and  un- 
welcome doctrine,  it  is  such  as  we  must  preach,  and 
you  must  hear.  It  is  easier  to  hear  of  hell  than  feel  it. 
If  your  necessities  did  not  require  it,  we  would  not  gall 
your  tender  ears  with  truths  that  seem  so  harsh  and 
grievous.  Hell  would  not  be  so  full,  if  people  were 
but  willing  to  know  their  case,  and  to  hear  and  think 
ot  it.  The  reason  why  so  few  escape  it  is,  because 
they  strive  not  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate  of  conver- 
sion, and  go  the  narrow  way  of  holiness,  while  they 
have  time :  and  they  strive  not,  because  they  are  not 
awakened  to  a  lively  feehng  of  the  danger  they  are  in  ; 
and  they  are  not  awakened  because  they  are  loath  to 
hear  or  think  of  it :  and  that  is  partly  through  foolish 
tenderness  and  carnal  self-love,  and  partly  because 
they  do  not  well  believe  the  word  that  threateneth  it. 
If  you  will  not  thoroughly  believe  this  truth,  methinks 
the  weight  of  it  should  force  you  to  remember  it,  and 
it  should  follow  you,  and  give  you  no  rest  till  you  are 
converted.  If  you  had  but  once  heard  this  word  by 
the  voice  of  an  angel,  "  Thou  must  be  converted,"  or 
"  condemned :  turn,  or  die :"  would  it  not  stick  in 
your  minds,  and  haunt  you  night  and  day  ?  so  that  in 
your  sinning  you  would  remember  it,  as  if  the  voice 
were  still  in  your  ears,  "  Turn,  or  die  !"  O  happy  were 
your  souls  if  it  might  thus  work  with  you  and  never  be 
forgotten,  or  let  you  alone  till  it  have  driven  home  your 
hearts  to  God.     But  if  you  will  cast  it  out  by  forgetful- 

5 


50  A    CALL    TO 

ness  or  unbelief,  how'can  it  work  to  your  conversion 
and  salvation?  But  take  this  with  you  to  your  sorrow, 
though  you  may  put  this  out  of  your  minds,  you  can- 
not put  it  out  of  the  Bible,  but  there  it  will  stand  as  a 
sealed  truth,  which  you  shall  experimentally  know  for 
ever,  that  there  is  no  other  way  but  turn,  or  die. 

O  what  is  the  matter,  then,  that  the  hearts  of  sin- 
ners are  not  pierced  with  such  a  weighty  truth  ?  A 
man  would  think  now,  that  every  unconverted  soul 
that  hears  these  words  should  be  pricked  to  the  heart, 
and  think  with  themselves,  '  This  is  my  own  case,'  and 
never  be  quiet  till  they  have  found  themselves  con- 
verted. Believe  it,  sirs,  this  drowsy  careless  temper 
will  not  last  long.  Conversion  and  condemnation  are 
both  of  them  awakening  things,  and  one  of  them  will 
make  you  feel  ere  long.  I  can  foretell  it  as  truly  as  if 
I  saw  it  with  my  eyes,  that  either  grace  or  hell  will 
shortly  bring  these  matters  to  the  quick,  and  make 
you  say,  '  What  have  I  done  ?  what  a  foolish  wicked 
course  have  I  taken?'  The  scornful  and  the  stupid  state 
of  sinners  will  last  but  a  little  while ;  as  soon  as  they 
either  turn  or  die,  the  presumptuous  dream  will  be  at 
an  end,  and  then  their  wits  and  feeling  will  return. 

But  I  foresee  there  are  two  things  that  are  likely  to 
harden  the  unconverted,  and  make  me  lose  all  my 
labour,  except  they  can  be  taken  out  of  the  way ;  and 
that  is,  the  misunderstanding  on  those  two  words,  the 
wicked  and  turn.  Some  will  think  to  themselves,  '  It 
is  true,  the  wicked  must  turn  or  die  ;  but  what  is  that 
to  me,  I  am  not  wicked  ;  though  I  am  a  sinner,  all  men 
are.'  Others  will  think,  '  It  is  true  that  we  must  turn 
from  our  evil  ways,  but  I  am  turned  long  ago ;  I  hope 
this  is  not  now  to  do.'  And  thus,  while  wicked  men 
think  they  are  not  wicked,  but  are  already  converted, 
we  lose  all  our  labour  in  persuading  them  to  turn.  I 
shall,  therefore,  before  I  go  any  further,  tell  you  here 
who  are  meant  by  the  wicked  ;  and  who  they  are  that 
must  turn  or  die;  and  also  what  is  meant  by  turning, 
and  who  they  are  that  are  truly  converted.  And  this 
I  have  purposely  reserved  for  this  place,  preferring  the 
method  that  fits  my  end. 


THE   UNCONVEIITED.  5| 

And  here  you  may  observe,  that  in  the  sense  of  the 
text,  a  wicked  man  and  a  converted  man  are  contra- 
ries. No  man  is  a  wicked  man  that  is  converted  ;  and 
no  man  is  a  converted  man  that  is  wicked ;  so  that  to 
be  a  wicked  man  and  to  be  an  unconverted  man,  is  all 
one  ;  and  therefore  in  opening  one,  we  shall  open  both. 

Before  I  can  tell  you  what  either  wickedness  or  con- 
version is,  I  must  go  to  the  bottom,  and  fetch  up  the 
matter  from  the  beginning. 

It  pleased  the  great  Creator  of  the  world  to  make 
three  sorts  of  living  creatures.     Angels  he  made  pure 
spirits  without  flesh,  and  therefore  he  made  them  only 
for  heaven,  and  not  to  dwell  on  earth.     Brutes  were 
made  flesh,  without  immortal  souls,  and  therefore  they 
were  made  only  for  earth,  and  not  for  heaven.     Man 
is  of  a  middle  nature,  between  both,  as  partaking  of 
both  flesh  and  spirit,  and  therefore  he  was  made  both 
for  heaven  and  earth.     But  as  his  flesh  is  made  to  be 
but  a  servant  to  his  spirit,  so  is  he  made  for  earth  but 
as  his  passage  or  way  to  heaven,  and  not  that   this 
should  be  his  home  or  happiness.     The  blessed  state 
that  man  was  made  for,  was  to  behold  the  glorious  ma- 
jesty of  the  Lord,  and  to  praise  him  among  his  Holy- 
Angels,  and  to  love  him,  and  to  be  filled  with  his  love 
for  ever.     And  as  this  was  the  end  that  man  was  made 
for,  so  God  did  give  him  means  that  were  fitted  to  the 
attammg  of  it.      These  means  were  principally  two: 
First,  the  right  inclination  and  disposition  of  the  mind 
of  man.     Secondly,  the  right  ordering  of  his  life  and 
practice.     For  the  first,  God  suited  the  disposition  of 
man  unto  his  end,  giving  him  such  knowledge  of  God 
as  was  fit  for  his  present  state,  and  a  heart  disposed 
and  inclined  to  God  in  holy  love.     But  yet  he  did  not 
fix  or  confirm  him  in  this  condition,  but,  having  m^ade 
him  a  free  agent,  he  left  him  in  the  hands  of  his  own 
free  will.     For  the  second,  God  did  that  which  belong- 
ed to  him ;  that  is,  he  gave  him  a  perfect  law,  required 
him  to  continue  in  the  love  of  God,  and  perfectly  to 
obey  him.     By  the  wilful  breach  of  this  law,  maii  did 
not  only  forfeit  his  hopes  of  everlasting  life,  but  also 
turned  his  heart  from  God,  and  fixed  it  on  these  lower 


52  A   CALL   TO 

fleshly  things,  and  hereby  blotted  out  the  spiritual  image 
of  God  from  his  soul ;  so  that  man  did  both  fall  short 
of  the  glory  of  God,  which  was  his  end,  and  put  him- 
self out  of  the  way  by  which  he  should  have  attained 
it,  and  this  both  as  to  the  frame  of  his  heart,  and  of  his 
life.  The  holy  inclination  and  love  of  his  soul  to  God, 
he  lost,  and  instead  of  it  he  contracted  an  inchnation 
and  love  to  the  pleasing  of  his  flesh,  or  carnal  self,  by 
earthl}'^  things ;  growing  strange  to  God  and  acquainted 
"with  the  creature.  And  the  course  of  this  life  was 
suited  to  the  bent  and  inclination  of  his  heart;  he  lived 
to  his  carnal  self,  and  not  to  God ;  he  sought  the  crea- 
ture, for  the  pleasing  of  his  flesh,  instead  of  seeking  to 
please  the  Lord.  With  this  nature  or  corrupt  inclina- 
tion, we  are  all  now  born  into  the  world ;  "  for  who 
can  bring  a  clean  thing  out  of  an  unclean  ?"  Job  xiv. 
4.  As  a  lion  hath  a  fierce  and  cruel  nature  before  he 
doth  devour,  and  an  adder  hath  a  venomous  nature 
before  she  sting,  so  in  our  infancy  we  have  those  sinful 
natures  or  inclinations,  before  we  think,  or  speak,  or 
do  amiss.  And  hence  springeth  all  the  sin  of  our  lives ; 
and  not  only  so,  but  when  God  hath  of  his  mercy 
provided  us  a  remedy,  even  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to 
be  the  Saviour  of  our  souls,  and  bring  us  back  to  God 
again,  we  naturally  love  our  present  state,  and  are  loath 
to  be  brought  out  of  it,  and  therefore  are  set  against 
the  means  of  our  recovery :  and  though  custom  hath 
taught  us  to  thank  Christ  for  his  good-will,  yet  carnal 
self  persuades  us  to  refuse  his  remedies,  and  to  desire 
to  be  excused,  when  w^e  are  commanded  to  take  the 
medicines  which  he  offers,  and  are  called  to  forsake  all 
and  follow  him  to  God  and  glory. 

I  pray  you  read  over  this  leaf  again,  and  mark  it; 
for  in  these  few  words  you  have  a  true  description  of 
our  natural  state,  and  consequently  of  wicked  man ; 
for  every  man  that  is  in  the  state  of  corrupted  nature 
is  a  wicked  man,  and  in  a  state  of  death. 

By  this  also  you  are  prepared  to  understand  what 
it  is  to  be  converted :  to  which  end  you  must  further 
know,  that  the  mercy  of  God,  not  willing  that  man 
should  perish  in  his  sin,  provided  a  remed}'^,  by  causing 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  53 

his  Son  to  take  our  nature,  and  being,  in  one  person, 
God  and  man,  to  become  a  mediator  between  God  and 
man,  and,  by  dying  for  our  sins  on  the  cross,  to  ransom 
us  from  the  curse  of  God  and  the  power  of  the  devil. 
And  having  thus  redeemed  us,  the  Father  hath  de- 
livered us  into  his  hands  as  his  own.  Hereupon  the 
Father  and  the  Mediator  do  make  a  new  lav/  and  cove- 
nant for  man,  not  like  the  first,  which  gave  life  to  none 
but  the  perfectly  obedient,  and  condemned  man  for 
every  sin ;  but  Christ  hath  made  a  law  of  grace,  or  a 
promise  of  pardon  and  everlasting  life  to  all  that,  by 
true  repentance,  and  by  faith  in  Christ,  are  converted 
unto  God  ;  like  an  act  of  oblivion,  which  is  made  by  a 
prince  to  a  company  of  rebels,  on  condition  they  will 
lay  down  arms  and  come  in,  and  be  loyal  subjects  for 
the  time  to  come. 

But,  because  the  Lord  knoweth  that  the  heart  of 
man  is  grown  so  wicked,  that,  for  all  this,  men  will  not 
accept  of  the  remedy  if  they  be  left  to  themselves, 
therefore  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  undertaken  it  as  his 
office  to  inspire  the  Apostles,  and  seal  up  the  Scriptures 
by  miracles  and  wonders,  and  to  illuminate  and  con- 
vert the  souls  of  the  elect. 

So  by  this  much  you  see,  that  as  there  are  three 
persons  in  the  Trinity,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the 
Holy  Ghost,  so  each  of  these  persons  have  their  seve- 
ral works,  which  are  eminently  ascribed  to  them. 

The  Father's  works  were,  to  create  us,  to  rule  us, 
as  his  rational  creatures,  by  the  law  of  nature,  and 
judge  us  thereby ;  and  in  mercy  to  provide  us  a  Re- 
deemer when  we  were  lost ;  and  to  send  his  Son,  and 
accept  his  ransom. 

The  works  of  the  Son  for  us  were  these  :  to  ran- 
dom and  redeem  us  by  his  suffering  and  righteousness ; 
to  give  out  the  promise  or  law  of  grace,  and  rule  and 
judge  the  world  as  their  Redeemer,  on  terms  of  grace  : 
and  to  make  intercession  for  us,  that  the  benefits  of  his 
death  may  be  communicated ;  and  to  send  the  Holy 
Ghost,  which  the  Father  also  doth  by  the  Son. 

The  works  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  us,  are  these :  to 
indite  the  holy  Scriptures,  by  inspiring  and  guiding 

5* 


54  A   CALL   TO 

the  Apostles,  and  sealing  the  word,  by  his  miraculous 
gifts  and  works,  and  the  illuminating  and  exciting  the 
ordinary  ministers  of  the  gospel,  and  so  enabling  them 
and  helping  them  to  publish  that  word ;  and  by  the 
same  word  illuminating  and  converting  the  souls  of 
men.  So  that  as  you  could  not  have  been  reasonable 
creatures,  if  the  Father  had  not  created  you,  nor  have 
had  any  access  to  God,  if  the  Son  had  not  redeemed 
you,  so  neither  can  you  have  a  part  in  Christ,  or  be 
saved,  except  the  Holy  Ghost  do  sanctify  you. 

So  that  by  this  time  you  may  see  the  several  causes 
of  this  work.  The  Father  sendeth  the  Son :  the  Son 
redeems  us  and  maketh  the  promise  of  grace :  the 
Holy  Ghost  inditeth  and  sealeth  this  ^ospel :  the  Apos- 
tles are  the  secretaries  of  the  Spirit  to  write  it :  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel  to  proclaim  it,  and  persuade 
men  to  open  it :  and  the  Holy  Ghost  doth  make  their 
preaching  effectual,  by  opening  the  hearts  of  men  to 
entertain  it  And  all  this  to  repair  the  image  of  God 
upon  the  soul,  and  to  set  the  heart  upon  God  again, 
and  take  it  off  the  creature  and  carnal  self  to  which  it 
is  revolted,  and  so  to  turn  the  current  of  the  hfe  into 
a  heavenly  course,  which  before  was  earthly ;  and  all 
this  by  entertaining  of  Christ  by  faith,  who  is  the  Phy- 
sician of  the  soul. 

By  what  I  have  said,  you  may  see  what  it  is  to  be 
wicked,  and  what  it  is  to  be  converted ;  which,  I  think, 
will  yet  be  plainer  to  you,  if  I  describe  them  as  con- 
sisting of  their  several  parts.  And  for  the  first,  a 
wicked  man  may  be  known  by  these  three  thino;s : — 

First,  He  is  one  w^ho  placeth  his  chief  affections  on 
earth,  and  loveth  the  creature  more  than  God,  and  his 
fleshly  prosperity  above  the  heavenly  felicity.  He 
savoureth  the  things  of  the  fiesh,  but  neither  discern- 
eth  nor  savoureth  the  things  of  the  Spirit ;  though  he 
will  say,  that  heaven  is  better  than  earth,  yet  he  doth 
not  really  so  esteem  it  to  himself.  If  he  might  be  sure 
of  earth,  he  would  let  go  heaven,  and  had  rather  stay 
here  than  be  removed  thither.  A  Ufe  of  perfect  holi- 
ness in  the  sight  of  God,  and  in  his  love  and  praises 
for  ever  in  heaven,  doth  not  find  such  liking  with  his 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  55 

heart,  as  a  life  of  health,  and  wealth,  and  honour  here 
upon  earth.  And  though  he  falsely  profess  that  he 
loves  God  above  all,  yet  mdeed  he  never  felt  the  power 
of  divme  love  within  him,  but  his  mind  is  more  set  on 
the  world  or  fleshly  pleasures  than  on  God.  In  a  word, 
whoever  loves  earth  above  heaven,  and  fleshly  prospe- 
rity more  than  God,  is  a  wicked  unconverted  man. 

On  the  other  hand,  a  converted  man  is  illuminated 
to  discern  the  loveliness  of  God,  and  so  far  believeth 
the  glory  that  is  to  be  had  with  God,  that  his  heart  is 
taken  up  with  it  and  set  more  upon  it  than  any  thing 
in  this  world.  He  had  rather  see  the  face  of  God,  and 
live  in  his  everlasting  love  and  praises,  tVian  have  all 
the  wealth  or  pleasures  of  the  world.  He  seeth  that 
all  things  else  are  vanity,  and  nothing  but  God  can  fill 
the  soul ;  and  therefore  let  the  world  go  which  way  it 
will,  he  layeth  up  his  treasures  and  hopes  in  heaven, 
and  for  that  he  is  resolved  to  let  go  all.  As  the  fire 
doth  mount  upward,  and  the  needle  that  is  touched 
with  the  loadstone  still  turns  to  the  north,  so  the  con- 
verted soul  is  inclined  unto  God.  Nothing  else  can 
satisfy  him  :  nor  can  he  find  any  content  and  rest  but 
in  his  love.  In  a  word,  all  that  are  converted  do  es- 
teem and  love  God  better  than  all  the  world,  and  the 
heavenly  felicity  is  dearer  to  them  than  their  fleshly 
prosperity.  The  proof  of  what  I  have  said,  you  may 
find  in  these  places  of  Scripture  :  Phil.  lii.  18,  21.  Matt, 
vi.  19,  20,  21.  Col.  iii.  1—4.  Rom.  viii.  5—9,  18,  23. 
Psalm  Ixxiii.  25,  26. 

Secondly,  A  wicked  man  is  one  that  makes  it  the 
principal  business  of  his  life  to  prosper  in  the  world, 
and  attain  his  fleshly  ends.  And  though  he  may  read, 
and  hear,  and  do  much  in  the  outAvard  duties  of  reli- 
gion, and  forbear  disgraceful  sins,  yet  this  is  all  but  by 
the  by,  and  he  never  makes  it  the  principal  business  of 
his  Hfe  to  please  God,  and  attain  everlasting  glory,  and 
puts  off  God  with  the  leavings  of  the  world,  and  gives 
him  no  more  service  than  the  flesh  can  spare,  for  he 
will  not  part  with  all  for  heaven. 

On  the  contrary,  a  converted  man  is  one  that  makes 
it  the  principal  care  and  business  of  his  life  to  please 


56  A   CALL   TO 

God,  and  to  be  saved,  and  takes  all  the  blessings  of 
this  life  but  as  accommodations  in  his  journey  towards 
another  life,  and  useth  the  creature  in  subordination  to 
God ;  he  loves  a  holy  life,  and  longs  to  be  more  holy ; 
he  hath  no  sin  but  what  he  hateth,  and  longeth,  and 
prayeth,  and  striveth  to  be  rid  of.  The  drift  and  bent 
of  his  life  is  for  God,  and  if  he  sin,  it  is  contrary  to  the 
very  bent  of  his  heart  and  life ;  and  therefore  he  riseth 
again  and  lamenteth  it,  and  dares  not  wilfully  live  in 
any  known  sin.  There  is  nothing  in  this  world  so 
dear  to  him  but  he  can  give  it  up  to  God,  and  forsake 
it  for  him  and  the  hopes  of  glory.  All  this  you  may 
see  in  Col.  iii.  1—5.  Matt.  vi.  20,  33.  Luke  xviii.  22, 
23,  29.  Luke  xiv.  18,  24,  26,  27.  Rom.  viii.  13.  Gal. 
v.  24.     Luke  xii.  21,  &c. 

Thirdly,  The  soul  of  a  wicked  man  did  never  truly 
discern  and  relish  the  mystery  of  redemption,  nor 
thankfully  entertain  an  offered  Saviour,  nor  is  he  taken 
up  with  the  love  of  the  Redeemer,  nor  willing  to  be 
ruled  by  him  as  the  Physician  of  his  soul,  that  he  may 
be  saved  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  his  sins,  and  re- 
covered to  God  ;  but  his  heart  is  insensible  of  this  un- 
speakable benefit,  and  is  quite  against  the  healing  means 
by  which  he  should  be  recovered.  Though  he  may 
be  willing  to  be  outwardly  religious,  yet  he  never  re- 
signs up  his  soul  to  Christ,  and  to  the  motions  and 
conduct  of  his  word  and  Spirit. 

On  the  contrary,  the  converted  soul  having  felt  him- 
self undone  by  sin,  and  perceiving  that  he  hath  lost 
his  peace  with  God  and  hopes  ot"  heaven,  and  is  in 
danger  of  everlasting  misery,  doth  thankfully  entertain 
the  tidings  of  redemption,  and  believing  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  as  his  only  Saviour,  resigns  himself  up  to  him 
for  wisdom,  righteousness,  sanctification,  and  redemp- 
tion. He  takes  Christ  as  the  life  of  his  soul,  and  lives 
by  him,  and  uses  him  as  a  salve  for  every  sore,  admir- 
ing the  wisdom  and  love  of  God  in  this  wonderful  work 
of  man's  redemption.  In  a  word,  Christ  doth  even 
dwell  in  his  heart  by  faith,  and  the  life  that  he  now  liv- 
eth,  is  by  the  faith  of  the  Son  of  God,  that  loved  him, 
and  gave  himself  for  him ;  yea,  it  is  not  so  much  he 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  37 

that  liveth,  as  Christ  in  him.  For  these,  see  Job  i.  11, 
12.  and  iii.  19,  20.  Rom.  viii.  9.  Phil.  iii.  7— 10.  Gal. 
li.  20.     Job  XV.  2,  3,  4.     1  Cor.  i.  20.  ii.  2. 

You  see  now  in  plain  terms  from  the  Word  of  God, 
who  are  the  wicked  and  who  are  the  converted.  Igno- 
rant people  think,  that  if  a  man  be  no  swearer,  nor 
curser,  nor  railer,  nor  drunkard,  nor  fornicator,  nor  ex- 
tortioner, nor  wrong  any  body  in  his  dealings,  and  if 
he  come  to  church  and  say  his  prayers,  he  cannot  be 
a  wicked  man.  Or  if  a  man  that  hath  been  guilty  of 
drunkenness,  swearing  or  gaming,  or  the  like  vices,  do 
but  forbear  them  for  the  time  to  come,  they  think 
that  this  is  a  converted  man.  Others  think,  if  a  man 
that  hath  been  an  enemy,  and  scorner  at  godliness,  do 
but  approve  it,  and  be  hated  for  it  by  the  wicked,  as 
the  godly  are,  that  this  must  needs  be  a  converted  man. 
And  some  are  so  foolish  as  to  think  that  they  are  con- 
verted, by  taking  up  some  new  opinion,  and  falling  into 
some  dividing  party.  And  some  think,  if  they  have 
but  been  affrighted  by  the  fears  of  hell,  and  had  con- 
victions of  conscience  ;  and  thereupon  have  purposed 
and  promised  amendment,  and  take  up  a  life  of  civil 
behaviour,  and  outward  religion,  that  this  must  needs 
be  true  conversion.  And  these  are  the  poor  deluded 
souls  that  are  like  to  lose  the  benefit  of  all  our  persua- 
sions ;  and  when  they  hear  that  the  wicked  must  turn 
or  die,  they  think  that  this  is  not  spoken  to  them,  for 
they  are  not  wicked,  but  are  turned  already.  And 
therefore  it  is  that  Christ  told  some  of  the  rulers  of  the 
Jews  who  were  greater  and  more  civil  than  the  com- 
mon people,  that  "  publicans  and  harlots  go  into  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  before  them."  Matt.  xxi.  31.  Not 
that  a  harlot  or  gross  sinner  can  be  saved  without  con- 
version ;  but  because  it  was  easier  to  make  these  gross 
sinners  perceive  their  sin  and  misery,  and  the  necessity 
of  a  change,  than  the  more  civil  sort,  who  delude  them- 
selves by  thinking  that  they  are  converted  already, 
when  they  are  not. 

O,  sirs,  conversion  is  another  kind  of  work  than  most 
are  aware  of.  It  is  not  a  small  matter  to  bring  an 
earthly  mind  to  heaven,  and  to  show  man  the  amiable 


58  A  CALL   TO 

excellencies  of  God,  till  he  be  taken  up  in  such  love  to 
him  that  can  never  be  quenched ;  to  break  the  heart 
for  sin,  and  make  him  fly  for  refuge  to  Christ,  and 
thankfully  embrace  him  as  the  life  oi"  his  soul ;  to  have 
the  very  drift  and  bent  of  the  heart  and  life  changed ; 
so  that  a  man  renounceth  that  which  he  took  for  his 
felicity,  and  placeth  his  felicity  where  he  never  did  be- 
fore ;  and  lives  not  to  the  same  end,  and  drives  not  on 
the  same  design  in  the  world,  as  he  formerly  did.  In 
a  word,  he  that  is  in  Christ  is  a  "  new  creature  :  old 
things  are  passed  away :  behold,  all  things  have  be- 
come new."  2  Cor.  v.  17.  He  hath  a  new  under- 
standing, a  new  will  and  resolution,  new  sorrows,  and 
desires,  and  love,  and  delight ;  new  thoughts,  new 
speeches,  new  company,  (if  possible,)  and  a  new  con 
versation.  Sin,  that  before  was  a  jesting  matter  with 
him,  is  now  so  odious  and  terrible  to  him,  that  he  flies 
from  it  as  from  death.  The  world,  that  was  so  lovely  in 
his  eyes,  doth  now  appear  but  as  vanity  and  vexation  : 
God,  that  was  before  neglected,  is  now  the  only  hap- 
piness of  his  soul :  before  he  was  forgotten,  and  every 
lust  preferred  before  him,  but  now  he  is  set  next  the 
heart,  and  all  things  must  give  place  to  him ;  the  heart 
is  taken  up  in  the  attendance  and  observance  of  him, 
is  grieved  when  he  hides  his  face,  and  never  thinks 
itself  well  without  him.  Christ  himself,  that  was  wont 
to  be  slightly  thought  of,  is  now  his  only  hope  and  re- 
fuge, and  he  lives  upon  him  as  on  his  daily  bread ;  he 
cannot  pray  without  him,  nor  rejoice  without  him, 
nor  think,  nor  speak,  nor  live  without  him.  Heaven 
itself,  that  before  was  looked  upon  but  as  a  tolerable  re- 
serve, which  he  hoped  might  serve  his  turn  better  than 
hell,  when  he  could  not  stay  any  longer  in  the  world, 
is  now  taken  for  his  home,  the  place  of  his  only  hope 
and  rest,  where  he  shall  see,  and  love,  and  praise  that 
God  that  hath  his  heart  already.  Hell,  that  did  seem 
before  but  as  a  bugbear  to  frio-hten  men  from  sin,  doth 
now  appear  to  be  a  real  misery,  that  is  not  to  be  ven- 
tured on,  nor  jested  with.  The  works  of  holiness,  of 
which  before  he  was  weary,  and  thought  to  be  more 
than  needfulj  are  now  both  his   recreation  and  his 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  59 

business,  and  the  trade  that  he  lives  upon.  The  Bible, 
which  was  before  to  him  but  almost  as  a  common  book, 
is  now  as  the  law  of  God  ;  as  a  letter  written  to  him, 
and  subscribed  with  the  name  of  the  Eternal  Majesty;  it 
is  the  rule  of  his  thoughts,  and  words,  and  deeds  ;  the 
commands  are  binding,  the  threats  are  dreadful,  and 
the  promises  of  it  speak  life  to  his  soul.  The  godly, 
that  seemed  to  him  but  like  other  men,  are  now  the 
most  excellent  and  happy  on  earth.  And  the  wicked 
that  were  his  playfellows,  are  now  his  grief;  and  he 
that  could  laugh  at  their  sins,  is  readier  now  to  weep 
for  their  sin  and  misery  : — Psalm  xvi.  3.  xv.  4.  Phil, 
lii.  18.  "  but  to  the  saints  that  are  in  the  earth,  and  to 
the  excellent,  in  whom  is  all  my  delight."  "  In  whose 
eyes  a  vile  person  is  contemned ;  but  he  honoureth  them 
that  fear  the  Lord  :  he  that  sweareth  to  his  own  hurt, 
and  changeth  not."  "  For  many  walk,  of  whom  I 
have  told  you  often,  and  now  tell  you  even  weeping, 
that  they  are  the  enemies  of  the  cross  of  Christ."  In 
short,  he  hath  a  new  end  in  his  thoughts,  and  a  new 
way  in  his  endeavours,  and  therefore  his  heart  and  Ufe 
are  new.  Before,  his  carnal  self  was  his  end,  and  his 
pleasure  and  worldly  profits  and  credit  were  his  way; 
and  now  God  and  everlasting  glory  are  his  end,  and 
Christ,  and  the  Spirit,  and  word,  and  ordinances, 
Holiness  to  God,  and  righteousness  and  mercy  to  men, 
these  are  his  way.  Before,  self  was  the  chief  ruler,  to 
which  the  matters  of  God  and  conscience  must  stoop 
and  give  place ;  and  now  God,  in  Christ,  by  the  Spirit, 
word  and  ministry,  is  the  chief  ruler,  to  whom  both  selt 
and  all  the  matters  of  self,  must  give  place.  So  that 
this  is  not  a  change  in  one,  or  two,  or  twenty  points, 
but  in  the  whole  soul,  and  in  the  very  end  and  bent  of 
the  conversation.  A  man  may  step  out  of  one  path 
into  another,  and  yet  have  his  face  the  same  way,  and 
be  still  going  towards  the  same  place ;  but  it  is  another 
matter  to  turn  quite  back,  and  take  his  journey  quite 
the  contrary  wayj  to  a  contrary  place.  So  it  is  here ; 
a  man  may  turn  from  drunkenness  to  thriftiness,  and 
forsake  his  good  fellowship,  and  other  gross  disgrace- 
ful sins,  and  set  upon  some  duties  of  religion,  and  yet 


6t)  A    CALL    TO 

be  still  going  to  the  same  end  as  before,  intending  his 
carnal  self  above  all,  and  giving  it  still  the  government 
of  his  soul ;  but  when  he  is  converted,  this  self  is  denied, 
and  taken  down,  and  God  is  set  up,  and  his  face  is 
turned  the  contrary  way  :  and  he  that  before  was  ad- 
dicted to  himself,  and  lived  to  himself,  is  now,  by  sanc- 
tification,  devoted  to  God,  and  liveth  unto  God.  Be- 
fore, he  asked  himself  what  he  should  do  with  his  time, 
his  parts,  and  his  estate,  and  for  himself  he  used  them  ; 
but  now  he  asketh  God  what  he  shall  do  with  them, 
and  useth  them  for  him.  Before,  he  would  please  God 
so  far  as  might  accord  with  the  pleasure  of  his  flesh 
and  carnal  self,  but  not  to  any  great  displeasure  of 
them  ;  but  now  he  will  please  God,  let  flesh  and  self 
be  never  so  much  displeased.  This  is  the  great  change 
that  God  will  make  upon  all  that  shall  be  saved. 

You  can  say,  that  the  Holy  Ghost  is  our  sanctifier ; 
but  do  you  know  what  sanctification  is?  Why,  this  is 
what  I  have  now  opened  to  you  ;  and  every  man  and 
woman  in  the  world  must  have  this,  or  be  condemned  to 
everlasting  misery.     They  must  turn  or  die. 

Do  you  believe  all  this,  sirs,  or  do  you  not  ?  Surely 
you  dare  not  say,  you  do  not;  for  it  is  past  a  doubt  or 
denial.  These  are  not  controversies,  where  one  learn- 
ed pious  man  is  of  one  mind,  and  another  of  another ; 
where  one  party  saith  this,  and  the  other  saith  that. 
Every  sect  among  us  that  deserve  to  be  called  Chris- 
tians, are  all  agreed  in  this  that  I  have  said ;  and  if  you 
will  not  believe  the  God  of  truth,  and  that  in  a  case 
where  every  sect  and  party  do  believe  him,  you  are  ut- 
terly inexcusable. 

But  if  you  do  believe  this,  how  comes  it  to  pass  that 
you  live  so  quietly  in  an  unconverted  state  ?  Do  you 
know  that  you  are  converted  ?  and  can  you  find  this 
wonderful  change  upon  your  souls?  Have  you  been 
thus  born  again,  and  made  new?  Are  not  these  strange 
matters  to  many  of  you,  and  such  as  you  never  felt 
within  yourselves?  If  you  cannot  tell  the  day  or 
week  of  your  change,  or  the  very  sermon  that  convert- 
ed you,  yet  do  you  find  that  the  work  is  done,  and  such 
a  change  indeed  there  is,  and  that  you  have  such 


'     '  THE    UNCONVERTED.  ^\ 

hearts  as  are  before  described  ?  Alas  1  the  most  do  fol- 
low their  worldly  business,  and  little  trouble  their  minds 
with  such  thoughts.  And  if  they  be  restrained  from 
scandalous  sins,  and  can  say,  "  I  am  no  whoremonger, 
nor  thief,  nor  curser,  nor  swearer,  nor  tippler,  nor  ex- 
tortioner ;  I  go  to  church  and  say  my  prayers  ;"  they 
think  that  this  is  true  conversion,  and  they  shall  be 
saved  as  well  as  any.  Alas  !  this  is  foolish  cheating  of 
yourselves.  This  is  too  much  contempt  of  an  endless 
fi*lory,  and  too  gross  neglect  of  your  immortal  souls. 
Can  you  make  so  light  of  heaven  and  hell  ?  Your 
corpse  will  shortly  lie  in  the  dust,  and  angels  or  devils 
will  presently  seize  upon  your  souls ;  and  every  man 
or  woman  of  you  all  will  shortly  be  among  other  com- 
pany, and  in  other  case  than  now  you  are.  You  will 
dwell  in  these  houses  but  a  Uttle  longer  ;  you  will  work 
in  your  shops  and  fields  but  a  little  longer;  you 
will  sit  in  these  seats  and  dwell  on  this  earth  but  a  little 
longer;  you  will  see  with  these  eyes,  and  hear  with 
these  ears,  and  speak  with  these  tongues,  but  a  little 
longer,  till  the  resurrection-day ;  and  can  you  make 
shift  to  forget  this  ?  O  what  a  place  will  you  shortly  be 
in,  of  joy  or  torment!  O  what  a  sight  will  you  shortly 
see  in  heaven  or  hell !  O  what  thoughts  will  shortly  fill 
your  hearts  with  unspeakable  delight  or  horror  !  What 
work  will  you  be  employed  in !  to  praise  the  Lord  with 
saints  and  angels,  or  to  cry  out  in  fire  unquenchable 
with  devils  ;  and  should  all  this  be  forgotten  ?  And  all 
this  will  be  endless,  and  sealed  up  by  an  unchangeable 
decree.  Eternity,  eternity  will  be  the  measure  of  your 
joys  or  sorrows  :  and  can  this  be  forgotten  ?  And  all 
this  is  true,  sirs,  most  certainly  true.  When  you  have 
gone  up  and  down  a  little  longer,  and  slept  and  awaked 
a  few  times  more,  you  will  be  dead  and  gone,  and  find 
all  true  that  now  I  tell  you  :  and  yet  can  you  now  so 
much  forget  it?  You  shall  then  remember  that  you 
heard  this  sermion,  and  that,  this  day  or  this  place,  you 
were  reminded  of  these  things,  and  perceive  them  mat- 
ters a  thousand  times  greater  than  either  you  or  I  could 
here  conceive;  and  yet  shall  they  be  now  so  much  for- 
gotten ? 

6 


62  A   CALL    TO 

Beloved  friends,  if  the  Lord  had  not  awakened  me 
to  believe  and  to  lay  to  heart  these  things  myself,  I 
should  have  remained  in  a  dark  and  selfish  state,  and 
have  perished  for  ever  ;  but  if  he  have  truly  made  me 
sensible  of  them,  it  will  constrain  me  to  compassionate 
you  as  well  as  myself  If  your  eyes  were  so  far  opened 
as  to  see  hell,  and  you  saw  your  neighbours,  that 
were  unconverted,  dragged  thither  with  hideous  cries ; 
though  they  were  such  as  you  accounted  honest  peo- 
ple on  earth,  and  feared  no  such  danger  themselves, 
such  a  sight  would  make  you  go  home  and  think  of  it, 
and  think  again,  and  make  you  warn  all  about  you,  as 
that  lost  worldling  (Luke  xvi.  28.)  would  have  had  his 
brethren  warned,  lest  they  come  to  tliat  place  or  tor- 
ment. Why,  faith  is  a  kind  of  sight ;  it  is  the  eye  of 
the  soul,  the  e\'idence  of  things  not  seen.  If  I  believe 
God,  it  is  next  to  seeing ;  and  therefore  I  beseech  you 
excuse  me,  if  I  be  half  as  earnest  with  you  about  these 
matters,  as  if  I  had  seen  them.  If  I  must  die  to-mor 
row,  and  it  were  in  my  power  to  come  again  from 
another  world,  and  tell  you  what  I  had  seen,  would 
you  not  be  willing  to  hear  me?  and  would  you  not 
believe,  and  regard  what  I  should  tell  you  ?  If  I  might 
preach  one  sermon  to  you  after  I  am  dead,  and  have 
seen  what  is  done  in  the  world  to  come,  would  you 
not  have  me  plainly  speak  the  truth,  and  would  you 
not  crowd  to  hear  me,  and  would  you  not  lay  it  to 
heart?  But  this  must  not  be  ;  God  hath  his  appointed 
way  of  teaching  you  by  Scriptures  and  ministers,  and 
he  will  not  humour  unbelievers  so  far  as  to  send  men 
from  the  dead  to  them,  and  alter  his  established  way  ; 
if  any  man  quarrel  with  the  sun,  God  will  not  humour 
him  so  far  as  to  set  up  a  clearer  light.  Friends,  I  be- 
seech you  regard  me  now,  as  you  would  do  if  I  should 
come  from  the  dead  to  you  ;  for  I  can  give  you  as  full 
assurance  of  the  truth  of  what  I  say  to  you,  as  if  I  had 
been  there  and  seen  it  with  my  eyes  ;  for  it  is  possible 
for  one  from  the  dead  to  deceive  you ;  but  Jesus  Christ 
can  never  deceive  you  ;  the  ^Yo^d  of  God  delivered  in 
Scripture,  and  sealed  by  miracles,  and  holy  workings 
of  the  Spirit,  can  never  deceive  you.    Believe  this  or 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  63 

believe  nothing.  Believe  and  obey  this,  or  you  are 
undone.  Now,  as  ever  you  believe  the  word  of  God, 
and  as  ever  you  care  for  the  salvation  of  your  souls,  let 
me  beg  of  you  this  reasonable  request,  and  I  beseech 
you  deny  me  not:  That  you  would,  without  any  more 
delay,  when  you  are  gone  from  hence,  remember  what 
you  have  heard,  and  enter  into  an  earnest  search  of 
your  hearts,  and  say  to  yourselves — Is  it  so  indeed  ; 
must  I  turn  or  die  ?  Must  I  be  converted  or  condemn- 
ed ?  It  is  time  for  me  then  to  look  about  me  before  it 
be  too  late.  O  why  did  not  I  look  after  this  till  now  ? 
Why  did  I  venturously  put  off  or  neglect  so  great  a 
bu  iness  ?  Was  I  awake,  or  in  my  wits  ?  O  blessed 
God,  what  a  mercy  is  it  that  thou  didst  not  cut  off  my 
life  all  this  while,  before  I  had  any  certain  hope  of  eter- 
nal life  !  Well,  God  forbid  that  I  should  neglect  this 
work  any  longer.  What  state  is  my  soul  in  ?  Am  I 
converted,  or  am  I  not?  Was  ever  such  a  change  or 
work  done  upon  my  soul  ?  Have  I  been  illuminated  by 
the  word  and  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  to  see  the  odiousness 
of  sin,  the  need  of  a  Saviour,  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the 
excellences  of  God  and  glory  ?  Is  my  heart  broken  or 
humbled  within  me,  for  my  former  life?  Have  I  thank- 
fully entertained  my  Saviour  and  Lord,  that  offered 
himself  with  pardon  and  life  for  my  soul  ?  Do  I  hate 
my  former  sinful  life,  and  the  remnant  of  every  sin  that 
is  in  me  ?  Do  I  fly  from  them  as  my  deadly  enemies  ? 
Do  I  give  up  myself  to  a  life  of  holiness  and  obedience 
to  God?  Do  I  love  it,  and  delight  in  it?  Can  I  truly 
say  that  I  am  dead  to  the  world,  and  carnal  self,  and 
that  I  live  for  God  and  the  glory  which  he  hath  pro- 
mised? Hath  heaven  more  of  my  estimation  and  reso- 
lution than  earth  ?  And  is  God  the  dearest  and  highest 
in  my  soul?  Once,  I  am  sure,  I  lived  principally  to 
the  world  and  flesh,  and  God  had  nothing  but  some 
heartless  services,  which  the  world  could  spare,  and 
.which  were  the  leavings  of  the  flesh.  Is  my  heart 
now  turned  another  way  ?  Have  I  a  new  design  and  a 
new  end,  and  a  new  train  of  holy  aflections  ?  Have  I 
set  my  hopes  and  heart  in  heaven?  And  is  it  not  the 
scope,  and  design,  and  bent  of  my  heart  to  get  well  to 


64  A   CALL    TO 

heaven,  and  see  the  glorious  face  of  God,  and  live  m 
his  love  and  praise  ?  And  when  I  sin,  is  it  against  the 
habitual  bent  and  design  of  my  heart?  And  do  I  con- 
quer all  gross  sins,  and  am  I  weary  and  willing  to  be 
rid  of  my  infirmities  ?  This  is  the  state  of  converted 
souls.  And  thus  it  must  be  with  me,  or  I  must  perish. 
Is  it  thus  with  me  indeed,  or  is  it  not  ?  It  is  time  to  get 
this  doubt  resolved  before  the  dreadful  Judge  resolve  it. 
I  am  not  such  a  stranger  to  my  own  heart  and  life,  but 
I  may  somewhat  perceive  whether  I  am  thus  converted 
or  not :  if  I  be  not,  it  will  do  me  no  good  to  flatter  my 
soul  with  false  conceits  and  hopes.  I  am  resolved  no 
more  to  deceive  myself,  but  endeavour  to  know  truly 
whether  I  be  converted  or  not :  that  if  I  be,  I  may  re- 
joice in  it,  and  glorify  my  gracious  Lord,  and  com- 
fortably go  on  till  I  reach  the  crown  :  and  if  I  am  not, 
I  may  set  myself  to  beg  and  seek  after  the  grace -that 
should  convert  me,  and  may  turn  without  any  more 
delay.  For,  if  I  find  in  time  that  I  am  out  of  the  way, 
by  the  help  of  Christ  I  may  turn  and  be  recovered  ; 
but  if  I  stay  till  either  my  heart  be  forsaken  of  God  in 
blindness  or  hardness,  or  till  I  be  catched  away  by 
death,  it  is  then  too  late.  There  is  no  place  for  re- 
pentance and  conversion  then ;  I  know  it  must  be  now 
or  never. 

Sirs,  this  is  my  request  to  you,  that  you  will  but 
take  your  hearts  to  task,  and  thus  examine  them,  till 
you  see,  if  it  may  be,  whether  you  are  converted  or 
not?  And  if  you  cannot  find  it  out  by  your  own  en- 
deavours, go  to  your  ministers,  if  they  be  faithful  and 
experienced  men,  and  desire  their  assistance.  The 
matter  is  great ;  let  not  bashfuhiess,  nor  carelessness 
hinder  you.  They  are  set  over  you,  to  advise  you,  for 
the  saving  of  your  soul,  as  physicians  advise  you  for 
the  curing  of  your  bodies.  It  undoes  many  thousands 
that  they  think  they  are  in  the  way  to  salvation,  when 
they  are  not ;  and  think  that  they  are  converted  when 
it  is  no  such  thing.  And,  then,  when  we  call  to  them 
daily  to  turn,  they  go  away  as  they  came,  and  think 
that  this  concerns  not  them;  lor  they  are  turned 
already,  and  hope  they  shall  do  well  enough  in  the  way 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  65 

that  they  are  in,  at  least  if  they  pick  the  fairest  path, 
and  avoid  some  of  the  foulest  steps,  when,  alaa!  all 
this  while  they  Uve  but  to  the  world  and  flesh,  and  are 
strangers  to  God  and  eternal  life;  and  are  quite  out  of 
the  way  to  heaven.  And  all  this  because  we  cannot 
persuade  them  to  a  few  serious  thoughts  of  their  con- 
dition, and  to  spend  a  few  hours  in  the  examining  of 
their  states.  Are  there  not  many  self-deceivers  who 
hear  me  this  day,  that  never  bestowed  one  hour,  or 
quarter  of  an  hour,  in  all  their  lives,  to  examine  their 
souls,  and  try  whether  they  are  truly  converted  or  not  ? 
O  merciful  God,  that  will  care  for  such  wretches  that 
care  no  more  for  themselves,  and  that  will  do  so  much 
to  save  them  from  hell,  and  help  them  to  heaven,  who 
will  do  so  little  for  it  themselves !  If  all  that  are  in  the 
way  to  hell,  and  in  the  state  of  damnation,  did  but 
know  it,  they  durst  not  continue  in  it.  The  greatest 
hope  that  the  devil  hath  of  bringing  you  to  damnation 
without  a  rescue,  is  by  keeping  you  blindfold,  and 
ignorant  of  your  state,  and  making  you  believe  that 
you  may  do  well  enough  in  the  way  that  you  are  in. 
If  you  knew  that  you  were  out  of  the  way  to  heaven, 
and  were  lost  for  ever  if  you  should  die  as  you  are  ; 
durst  you  sleep  another  night  in  the  state  that  you  are 
in?  Durst  you  live  another  day  in  it?  Could  you 
heartily  laugh,  or  be  merry  in  such  a  state  ?  What ! 
And  not  know  but  you  may  be  snatched  away  to  hell 
in  an  hour?  Sure  it  would  constrain  you  to  forsake 
your  former  company  and  courses,  and  to  betake  your- 
selves to  the  ways  of  holiness,  and  the  communion  of 
saints.  Sure  it  would  drive  you  to  cry  to  God  for  a 
new  heart,  and  to  seek  help  of  those  that  are  fit  to 
counsel  you.  There  are  none  of  you  that  cares  not 
for  being  damned.  Well,  then  I  beseech  you  presently 
make  inquiry  into  your  hearts,  and  give  them  no  rest 
till  you  find  out  your  condition,  that  if  it  be  good,  you 
may  rejoice  in  it.  and  go  on  ;  and  if  it  be  bad,  you  may 
presently  look  about  you  for  recovery,  as  men  that  be- 
lieve they  must  turn  or  die.  What  say  you,  sirs,  will 
you  resolve  and  promise  to  be  at  thus  much  labour  for 
your  own  souls?     Will  you  fall  upon  this  self-exami- 

6* 


66  A   CALL   TO 

nation  when  you  come  home  ?  Is  my  request  unrea- 
sonable ?  Your  consciences  know  it  is  not.  Resolve 
on  it,  then,  before  you  stir  ;  knowing  how  much  it  con- 
cerneth  your  souls.  I  beseech  you,  for  the  sake  of 
that  God  that  doth  command  you,  at  whose  bar  you 
will  all  shortly  appear,  that  you  do  not  deny  me  this 
reasonable  request.  For  the  sake  of  those  souls  that 
must  turn  or  die,  I  beseech  you  deny  me  not ;  but  make 
it  your  business  to  understand  your  own  conditions, 
and  build  upon  sure  ground,  and  know  whether  you 
are  converted  or  not ;  and  venture  not  your  souls  on 
negligent  security. 

But  perhaps  you  will  say,  '  What  if  we  should  find 
ourselves  yet  unconverted,  what  shall  we  do  then  ?' 
This  question  leads  me  to  my  second  Doctrine ;  which 
will  do  much  to  the  answering  of  it,  to  which  I  now 
proceed. 

Doctrine  2.  It  is  the  promise  of  God,  that  the 
wicked  shall  live,  if  they  will  but  turn,  unfeignedly 
and  thoroughly  turn. 

The  Lord  here  professeth  that  this  is  what  he  takes 
pleasure  in,  that  the  wicked  turn  and  live.  Heaven  is 
made  as  sure  to  the  converted,  as  hell  is  to  the  uncon- 
verted. Turn  and  live,  is  as  certain  a  truth  as  turn  or 
die.  God  was  not  bound  to  provide  us  a  Saviour,  nor 
open  to  us  a  door  of  hope,  nor  call  us  to  repent  and 
turn,  when  once  we  had  cast  ourselves  away  by  sin. 
But  he  hath  freely  done  it  to  magnify  his  mercy.  Sin- 
ners, there  are  none  of  you  shall  have  cause  to  go  home, 
and  say  I  preach  desperation  to  you.  Do  we  use  to 
shut  the  door  of  mercy  against  you?  O  that  you 
would  not  shut  it  up  against  yourselves !  Do  we  use 
to  tell  you  that  God  will  have  no  mercy  on  you,  though 
you  turn  and  be  sanctified  ?  When  did  you  ever  hear 
a  preacher  say  such  a  word  ?  You  that  cavil  at  the 
preachers  of  the  gospel,  for  desiring  to  keep  you  out 
of  hell,  and  say,  that  they  preach  desperation ;  tell  me 
if  you  can,  when  did  you  ever  hear  any  sober  man  say, 
that  there  is  no  hope  for  you,  though  you  repent,  and 


THE    UNCONVERTED,  67 

be  converted  ?  No,  it  is  the  direct  contrary  that  we 
daily  proclaim  from  the  Lord ;  and  whoever  is  born 
again,  and  by  faith  and  repentance  doth  become  a  new 
creature,  shall  certainly  be  saved  ;  and  so  far  are  we 
from  persuading  you  to  despair  of  this,  that  we  per- 
suade you  not  to  make  any  doubt  of  it.  It  is  Hfe,  not 
death,  that  is  the  first  part  of  our  message  to  you  ;  our 
commission  is  to  offer  salvation,  certain  salvation ;  a 
speedy,  glorious,  everlasting  salvation,  to  every  one  of 
you ;  to  the  poorest  beggar  as  well  as  the  greatest  lord ; 
to  the  worst  of  you,  even  to  drunkards,  swearers, 
worldlings,  thieves,  yea,  to  the  despisers  and  reproach- 
ers  of  the  holy  way  of  salvation.  We  are  commanded 
by  the  Lord  our  Master,  to  offer  you  a  pardon  for  all 
that  is  past,  if  you  will  but  now  at  last  return  and  live ; 
we  are  commanded  to  beseech  and  entreat  you  to  ac- 
cept the  offer,  and  return ;  to  tell  you  what  preparation 
is  made  by  Christ;  what  mercy  stays  for  you  ;  what 
patience  waiteth  for  you ;  what  thoughts  of  kindness 
God  hath  towards  you  ;  and  how  happy,  how  certainly 
and  unspeakably  happy  you  may  be  if  you  will.  We 
have  indeed  also  a  message  of  wrath  and  death,  yea, 
of  a  twofold  wrath  and  death ;  but  neither  of  them  is 
our  principal  message.  We  must  tell  you  of  the  wrath 
that  is  on  you  already,  and  the  death  that  you  are  born 
under,  for  the  breach  of  the  law  of  works ;  but  this  is 
but  to  show  you  the  need  of  mercy,  and  to  provoke 
you  to  esteem  the  grace  of  the  Redeemer.  And  we 
tell  you  nothing  but  the  truth,  which  you  must  know ; 
for  who  will  seek  for  physic  that  knows  not  that  he  is 
sick?  Our  telling  you  of  your  misery,  is  not  that 
which  makes  you  miserable,  Ijut  driveth  you  out  to  seek 
for  mercy.  It  is  you  that  have  brought  this  death  upon 
yourselves.  We  tell  you  also  of  another  death,  even 
remediless,  and  much  greater  torment,  that  will  fall  on 
those  that  will  not  be  converted.  But  as  this  is  true, 
and  must  be  told  you,  so  it  is  but  the  last  and  saddest 
part  of  our  message.  We  are  first  to  offer  you  mercy, 
if  you  will  turn  ;  and  it  is  only  those  that  will  not  turn, 
nor  hear  the  voice  of  mercv,  to  whom  we  must  fore- 
tell damnation.    Will  you  l)ut  cast  away  your  trans- 


68  A   CALL    TO 

gressions,  delay  no  longer,  but  come  away  at  the  call 
of  Christ,  and  be  converted,  and  become  new  crea- 
tures, and  we  have  not  a  word  oi'  damning  wrath  or 
death  to  speak  against  you.  I  do  here,  in  the  name  of 
the  Lord  of  Life,  proclaim  to  you  all  that  hear  me  this 
day,  to  the  worst  of  you,  to  the  greatest,  to  the  oldest 
sinner,  that  you  may  have  mercy  and  salvation,  if 
you  will  but  turn.  There  is  mercy  in  God,  there  is 
sufficiency  in  the  satisfaction  of  Christ,  the  promise  is 
free,  and  full,  and  universal;  you  may  have  life,  if  you 
will  but  turn.  But  then,  as  you  love  your  souls,  re- 
member what  turning  it  is  that  the  Scripture  speaks  of. 
It  is  not  to  mend  the  old  house,  but  to  pull  down  all, 
and  build  anew  on  Christ,  the  Rock,  and  sure  founda- 
tion. It  is  not  to  mend  somewhat  in  a  carnal  course  ot 
life,  but  to  mortify  the  flesh,  and  live  after  the  Spirit. 
It  is  not  to  serve  the  flesh  and  the  world,  in  a  more 
reformed  way,  without  any  scandalous  disgraceful  sins, 
and  with  a  certain  kind  of  religiousness  ;  but  it  is  to 
change  your  master,  and  your  works,  and  end ;  and 
to  set  your  face  the  contrary  way,  and  do  all  for  the 
life  that  you  never  saw,  and  dedicate  yourselves  and 
all  you  have  to  God.  This  is  the  change  that  must  be 
made,  if  yon  will  live. 

Yourselves  are  witnesses  now,  that  it  is  salvation, 
and  not  damnation,  that  is  the  great  doctrine  I  preach 
to  you,  and  the  first  part  of  my  message  to  you.  Ac- 
cept of  this,  and  we  shall  go  no  further  with  you ;  for 
we  would  not  so  much  as  affright,  or  trouble  you  with 
the  name  of  damnation,  without  necessity. 

But  if  you  will  not  be  saved,  there  is  no  remedy,  but 
damnation  must  take  place  ;  for  there  is  no  middle  place 
between  the  two ;  you  must  have  either  life  or  death. 

And  we  are  not  only  to  ofler  you  life,  but  to  show 
you  the  grounds  on  which  we  do  it,  and  call  you  to 
believe  that  God  doth  mean,  indeed,  as  he  speaks ;  that 
the  promise  is  true,  and  extended  conditionally  to  you, 
as  well  as  others ;  and  that  heaven  is  no  fancy,  but  a 
true  felicity. 

If  you  ask.  Where  is  your  commission  for  this  ofler? 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  '  ©9 

Among  a  hundred  texts  of  scripture,  I  will  show  it  to 
you  in  these  few  : 

First,  You  see  it  here  in  my  text,  and  the  following 
verses,  and  in  the  18th  of  Ezekiel,  as  plain  as  can  he 
spoken;  and  in  2  Cor.  v.  17 — 21,  you  have  the  very 
sum  of  our  commission ;  "  If  any  man  be  in  Christ, 
he  is  a  new  creature  :  old  things  are  passed  away ;  be- 
hold, all  things  are  become  new.  And  all  things  are 
of  God,  who  hath  reconciled  us  to  himself  by  Jesus 
Christ,  and  hath  given  to  us  the  ministry  of  reconcilia- 
tion ;  to  wit,  that  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself,  not  imputing  their  trespasses  to 
them,  and  hath  committed  unto  us  the  word  of  recon- 
ciliation. Now  then  we  are  ambassadors  for  Christ, 
as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us :  we  pray  you 
in  Christ's  stead,  be  ye  reconciled  unto  God.  For  he 
hath  made  him  to  be  sin  for  us,  who  knew  no  sin ;  that 
we  might  be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  him." 
So  Mark  xvi.  15,  16.  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world,  and 
preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature.  He  that  beheveth, 
(that  is,  with  such  a  converting  faith  as  is  expressed,) 
and  is  baptized,  shall  be  saved ;  and  he  that  believeth 
not,  shall  be  damned."  And  Luke  xxiv.  46, 47.  "  Thus 
it  behoved  Christ  to  suffer,  and  to  rise  from  the  dead 
the  third  day :  and  that  repentance  (which  is  conver- 
sion) and  remission  of  sins  should  be  preached  in  his 
name  among  all  nations."  And,  Acts  v.  30,  31.  "The 
God  of  our  fathers  raised  up  Jesus,  whom  ye  slew, 
and  hanged  on  a  tree:  him  hath  God  exalted  with  his 
right  hand,  to  be  a  Prince  and  a  Saviour,  to  give  re- 
pentance to  Israel,  and  forgiveness  of  sins.  And 
Acts  xiii.  38,  39.  "  Be  it  known  unto  you,  therefore, 
men  and  brethren,  that  through  this  man  is  preached 
unto  you  the  forgiveness  of  sins  ;  and  by  him  all  that 
believe  are  justified  from  all  things,  from  which  ye 
could  not  be  justified  by  the  law  of  Moses."  And  lest 
you  think  this  offer  is  restrained  to  the  Jews,  see  Gal. 
vi.  15.  "For  in  Christ  Jesus,  neither  circumcision 
availeth  any  thing,  nor  uncircumcision,  but  a  new 
creature."  And  Luke  xiv.  17.  "Come,  for  all  tilings 
are  now  ready." 


70  A   CA.LL   TO 

You  see  by  this  time  that  we  are  commanded  to 
offer  life  to  you  all,  and  to  tell  you  from  God,  That  if 
you  will  turn,  you  may  live. 

Here  you  may  safely  trust  your  souls ;  for  the  love 
of  God  is  the  fountain  of  this  offer,  (John  iii.  16,)  and 
the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  hath  purchased  it ;  the 
faithfulness  and  truth  of  God  is  enoracred  to  make  the 
promise  good  ;  miracles  oft  sealed  the  truth  of  i1  ; 
preachers  are  sent  through  the  world  to  proclaim  it; 
the  sacraments  are  instituted  and  used  for  the  solemn 
delivery  of  the  mercy  offered  to  them  that  will  accept 
it;  and  the  Spirit  doth  open  the  heart  to  entertain  it, 
and  is  itself  the  earnest  of  the  full  possession.  So  that 
the  truth  of  it  is  past  controversy,  that  the  worst  of 
you  all,  and  every  one  of  you,  if  you  will  but  be  con- 
verted, may  be  saved. 

Indeed,  if  you  will  needs  believe  that  you  shall  be 
saved  without  conversion,  then  you  believe  a  falsehood ; 
and  if  I  should  preach  that  to  you,  I  should  preach  a 
lie.  This  were  not  to  believe  God,  but  the  devil  and 
your  own  deceitful  hearts.  God  hath  his  promise  of 
life,  and  the  devil  hath  his  promise  of  life.  God's  pro- 
mise is.  Return  and  live.  The  devil's  promise  is.  You 
shall  live  whether  you  turn  or  not.  The  words  of  God 
are,  as  I  have  showed  you,  "  Except  ye  be  converted 
and  become  as  little  children,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  heaven."  Matt,  xviii.  3.  "  Except  a  man 
be  born  again,  he  cannot  enter  into  the  kingdom  of 
God."  John  iii.  3,  5.  "  Without  holiness  none  shall 
see  God."  Heb.  xii.  14.  The  devil's  word,  "  You 
may  be  saved  without  being  born  again  and  converted  ; 
you  may  do  well  enough  without  being  holy,  God  doth 
but  frighten  you  ;  he  is  more  merciful  than  to  do  as  he 
eaith,  he  will  be  better  to  you  than  his  word."  And, 
alas,  the  greatest  part  of  the  world  believe  this  word 
of  the  devil,  before  the  word  of  God ;  just  as  our  sin 
and  misery  came  into  the  world.  God  said  to  our  first 
parents,  "  If  ye  eat  ye  shall  die ;"  and  the  devil  con- 
tradicted him,  and  said,  "  Ye  shall  not  die :"  and  the 
woman  believed  the  devil  before  God.  So  now  the 
Lord  saith   Turn  or  die:  and  the   devil   snith   You 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  71 

shall  not  die,  if  you  do  but  cry  for  God's  mercy  at  last, 
and  give  over  the  acts  of  sin  when  you  can  practice  it 
no  longer.  And  this  is  the  word  that  the  world  be- 
lieves. O  heinous  wickedness,  to  believe  the  devil 
before  God. 

And  yet  that  is  not  the  worst ;  but  blasphemously 
they  call  this  a  believing  and  trusting  in  God,  when 
they  put  him  in  the  shape  of  Satan,  who  was  a  liar 
from  the  beginning ;  and  when  they  believe  that  the 
word  of  God  is  a  lie,  they  call  this  a  trusting  God  and 
say  they  believe  in  him,  and  trust  in  him  for  salvation. 
Where  did  ever  God  say,  that  the  unregenerate,  un- 
converted, unsanctified,  shall  be  saved?  Show  me  such 
a  word  in  Scripture.  I  challenge  you  if  you  can. 
Why,  this  is  the  devil's  word,  and  to  believe  it,  is  to  be- 
lieve the  devil,  and  the  sin  that  is  commonly  called 
presumption;  and  do  you  call  this  a  believing  and 
trusting  in  God?  There  is  enough  in  the  word  of  God 
to  comfort  and  strengthen  the  heart  of  the  sanctified ; 
but  not  a  word  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  wickedness, 
nor  to  give  men  the  least  hope  of  l>eing  saved,  though 
they  be  never  sanctified. 

But  if  you  will  turn,  and  come  into  the  way  of  mercy, 
the  mercy  of  the  Lord  is  ready  to  entertain  you.  Then 
trust  God  for  salvation,  boldly  and  coniidently;  for  he 
is  engaged  by  his  word  to  save  you.  He  will  be  a 
father  to  none  but  his  children ;  and  he  will  save  none 
but  those  that  forsake  the  world,  the  devil,  and  the 
flesh,  and  come  into  his  family  to  be  members  of  his 
Son,  and  have  communion  with  his  saints.  But  if 
they  will  not  come  in,  it  is  the  fault  of  themselves :  his 
doors  are  open ;  he  keeps  none  back ;  he  never  sent 
such  a  message  as  this  to  any  of  you,  '  It  is  now  too 
late  ;  I  will  not  receive  thee,  though  thou  be  converted.' 
He  might  have  done  so  and  done  you  no  wrong;  but 
he  did  not ;  he  doth  not  to  this  day.  He  is  still  ready 
to  receive  you,  if  you  were  but  ready  unfeignedly.  and 
with  all  your  hearts,  to  turn.  And  the  fulness  of  this 
truth  will  yet  more  appear  in  the  two  following  doc- 
trines, which  I  shall  therefore  next  proceed  to,  before  1 
make  any  tiirther  application  of  this. 


72  A  CALL   TO 

Doctrine  3.  God  taketh  pleasure  in  men's  conver- 
sion and  salvation,  but  not  in  their  death  or  damna- 
tion. He  had  rather  they  would  turn  and  live,  than 
go  on  and  die. 

I  shall  first  teach  you  how  to  understand  this,  and 
then  clear  up  the  truth  of  it  to  you. 

And  for  the  first,  you  must  o]>serve  these  following 
things  :  1.  A  simple  willingness  or  complacency  is  the 
first  act  of  the  will  following  the  single  apprehension 
of  the  understanding,  before  it  proceedeth  to  compare 
things  together ;  but  the  choosing  act  of  the  will  is  a 
following  act,  and  supposeth  the  comparing  practical 
act  of  the  understanding ;  and  these  two  acts  may 
often  be  carried  to  contrary  objects,  without  any  fault 
at  all  in  the  person. 

2.  An  unfeigned  willingness  may  have  divers  de- 
grees ;  some  things  I  am  so  far  willing  of  as  that  I  will 
do  all  that  lieth  in  my  power  to  accomplish  it,  and  some 
things  I  am  truly  ^\'illing  another  should  do,  when  jyet 
I  will  not  do  all  that  I  am  ever  able  to  procure  it,  hav- 
ing many  reasons  to  dissuade  me  therefrom,  thougiJ 
yet  I  will  do  all  that  belongs  to  me  to  do. 

3.  The  will  of  a  ruler,  as  such,  is  manifested  in 
making  and  executing  laws ;  but  the  w^ill  of  man  in 
his  simple  natural  capacity,  or  as  absolute  lord  of  his 
own,  is  manifested  in  desiring  or  resolving  of  events. 

4.  A  ruler's  will,  as  lawgiver,  is  first  and  principally 
that  his  laws  be  obeyed,  and  not  at  all  that  the  penalty 
be  executed  on  any,  but  only  on  supposition  that  they 
w^ill  not  obey  his  laws ;  but  a  ruler's  will,  as  judge,  sup- 
poseth the  law  already  either  kept  or  broken,  and 
therefore  he  resolve th  our  reward  or  punishment  ac- 
cordingly. 

Having  given  you  those  necessary  distinctions,  I 
shall  next  apply  them  to  the  case  in  hand,  in  these 
following  propositions  : — 

1.  It  is  in  the  glass  of  the  word  and  creatures,  that 
in  this  life  we  must  know  God ;  and  so  according  to 
the  nature  of  man  we  ascribe  to  him  understanding 
and  will,  removing  all  the  impertections  that  we  can, 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  73 

because  we  are  capable  of  no  higher  positive  concep- 
tions of  him. 

2.  And  on  the  same  grounds  we  do,  with  the  Scrip- 
ture, distinguish  between  the  acts  of  God's  will,  as 
diversified  from  the  respects  or  the  objects,  though  as 
to  God's  essence  they  are  all  one. 

3.  And  the  bolder,  because  that  when  we  speak  of 
Christ,  we  have  the  more  ground  for  it  from  his  human 
nature. 

4.  And  thus  we  say,  that  the  simple  complacency, 
will,  or  love  of  God,  is  to  all  that  is  naturally  or  mo- 
rally good,  according  to  the  nature  and  degree  of  its 
goodness,  and  so  he  hath  pleasure  in  the  conversion 
and  salvation  of  all,  which  yet  will  never  come  to  pass. 

5.  And  God,  as  Ruler  and  Lawgiver  of  the  world, 
had  so  far  a  practical  will  for  their  salvation,  as  to  make 
them  a  free  deed  of  gift  of  Christ  and  life,  and  an  act 
of  oblivion  for  all  their  sins,  so  be  if  they  will  not  un- 
thankfully  reject  it ;  and  to  command  his  messengers 
to  offer  this  gift  to  all  the  world,  and  persuade  them 
to  accept  it.  And  so  he  doth  all  that,  as  Lawgiver  or 
Promiser,  belongs  to  him  to  do  for  their  salvation. 

6.  But  yet  he  resolveth,  as  Lawgiver,  that  they  that 
will  not  turn  shall  die ;  and  as  Judge,  when  their  day 
of  grace  is  past,  he  will  execute  that  decree. 

7.  So  that  he  thus  unfeignedly  willeth  the  conversion 
of  those  that  never  will  be  converted,  but  not  as  abso- 
lute Lord  with  the  fullest  efficacious  resolution,  nor  as 
a  thing  which  he  resolveth  shall  undoubtedly  come  to 
pass,  or  would  engage  all  his  power  to  accomplish.  It 
is  in  the  power  of"  a  prince  to  set  a  guard  upon  a  mur- 
derer, to  see  that  he  shall  not  murder,  and  be  hanged  ; 
but  it,  upon  good  reason,  he  forbear  this,  and  do  but 
send  to  his  subjects  to  warn  and  entreat  them  not 
to  be  murderers,  I  hope  he  may  well  say  that  he  wouW 
not  have  them  murder  and  be  hanged ;  he  takes  nr 
pleasure  in  it,  but  rather  that  they  forbear  and  Hve,  anc 
if  he  do  more  for  some  upon  some  special  reason,  he  \i 
not  bound  to  do  so  by  all.  The  king  may  well  say  to  al 
murderers  and  felons  in  the  land,  'I  have  no  pleasure 
in  your  death,  but  rather  that  you  would  obey  mj 

7 


74  A   CALL   TO 

laws  and  live  ;  but  if  you  will  not,  I  am  resolved,  for 
all  this,  that  you  shall  die.'  The  judge  may  truly  say 
to  a  thief,  or  the  murderer,  '  Alas,  I  have  no  delight 
in  thy  death ;  I  had  rather  thou  hadst  kept  the  law 
and  saved  thy  life ;  but  seeing  thou  hast  not,  I  must 
condemn  thee,  or  else  I  should  be  unjust.'  So,  though 
God  have  no  pleasure  in  your  damnation,  and  there- 
fore calls  upon  you  to  return  and  live,  yet  he  hath  plea- 
sure in  the  demonstration  of  his  own  justice,  and  the 
executing  his  laws ;  and  therefore  he  is,  for  all  this, 
fully  resolved,  that  if  you  will  not  be  conve-rted,  you 
shall  be  condemned.  If  God  was  so  much  against  the 
death  of  the  wicked,  as  that  he  were  resolved  to  do  all 
that  he  can  to  hinder  it,  then  no  man  shall  be  con- 
demned ;  whereas  Christ  telleih  you,  that  few  will  be 
saved.  But  so  far  God  is  against  your  damnation,  as 
that  he  will  teach  you,  and  warn  you,  and  set  before 
you  life  and  death,  and  offer  you  your  choice,  and  com- 
mand his  ministers  to  entreat  you  not  to  destroy  your- 
selves, but  accept  his  mercy,  and  so  to  leave  you 
without  excuse.  But  if  this  will  not  do,  and  if  still  you 
be  unconverted,  he  professeth  to  you,  he  is  resolved  on 
your  damnation,  and  hath  commanded  us  to  say  to  you 
in  his  name,  verse  8,  "  O  wicked  man,  thou  shalt  surely 
die  !"  And  Christ  hath  Uttle  less  than  sworn  it,  over 
and  over,  with  a  "  Verily,  verily,  except  ye  be  con- 
verted and  born  again,  ye  cannot  enter  into  the  king- 
dom of  heaven."  Matt,  xviii.  3.  John  iii.  3.  Mark  that 
he  saith  "  you  cannot."  It  is  in  vain  to  hope  for  it, 
and  in  vain  to  dream  that  God  is  willing  for  it:  for  it  is 
a  thing  that  cannot  be. 

In  a  word,  you  see  then  the  meaning  of  the  text; 
that  God,  the  great  Lawgiver  of  the  world,  doth  take 
no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  rather  that 
they  turn  and  live ;  though  yet  he  be  resolved  that 
none  shall  hve  but  those  that  turn  ;  and  as  a  judge  even 
delighteth  in  justice,  and  manifesting  his  hatred  of  sin, 
though  not  in  their  mJsery,  which  they  have  brought 
upon  themselves,  in  itself  considered. 

And  for  the  proofs  of  the  point,  I  shall  be  very  brief 
in  them,  because  I  suppose  you  easily  believe  it  already. 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  75 

1.  The  very  gracious  nature  of  God  proclaimed : 
"And  the  Lord  passed  by  before  him,  and  proclaimed, 
The  Lord,  the  Lord  God,  merciful  and  gracious,  long- 
sufierinff,  and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping 
mercy  for  thousands,  forgiving  iniquity,  and  trans° 
gression,  and  sin,  and  that  will  by  no  means  clear  the 
guilty ;"  (Exod.  xxiv.  6.  and  xxvi.  6.)  and  frequently 
elsewhere,  may  assure  you  of  this,  That  he  hath  no 
pleasure  in  your  death. 

2.  If  God  had  more  pleasure  in  thy  death,  than  in 
thy  conversion  and  life,  he  would  not  have  so  fre- 
quently commanded  thee  in  his  word,  to  turn;  he 
would  not  have  made  thee  such  promises  of  life,  if  thou 
wilt  but  turn ;  he  would  not  have  persuaded  thee  to  it 
by  so  many  reasons.  The  tenor  of  his  gospel  proveth 
the  point. 

3.  And  his  commission  that  he  hath  given  to  the 
ministers  of  the  gospel,  doth  fully  prove  it.  If  God 
had  taken  more  pleasure  in  thy  damnation,  than  in  thy 
conversion  and  salvation,  he  wouki  never  have  charged 
us  to  offer  you  mercy,  and  to  teach  you  the  way  of  fife, 
both  publicly  and  privately :  and  to  entreat  and  be- 
seech you  to  turn  and  live ;  to  acquaint  you  with  your 
sins,  and  foretell  you  of  your  danger ;  and  to  do  aUthat 
possibly  we  can  for  your  conversion,  and  to  continue  pa- 
tiently so  doing,  though  you  should  hate  or  abuse  us 
for  our  pains.  Would  God  have  done  this,  and  ap- 
pointed his  ordinances  for  your  good,  if  he  had  taken 
pleasure  in  your  death  ? 

4.  It  is  proved  also  by  the  course  of  his  providence. 
If  God  had  rather  you  were  damned  than  converted 
and  saved,  he  would  not  second  his  word  with  his 
works,  and  entice  you  by  his  daily  kindness  to  himself, 
and  give  you  all  the  mercies  of  this  life,  which  are  his 
means  "  to  lead  you  to  repentance,"  (Rom.  ii.  4.)  and 
bring  you  so  often  under  his  rod  to  lead  you  to  your 
senses;  he  would  not  set  so  many  exarnples  before 
your  eyes,  no,  nor  wait  on  you  so  patiently  as  he  does 
from  day  to  day,  and  year  to  year.  These  are  not 
signs  of  one  that  taketh  pieasure'ia  your  death.  If  this 
had  been  liis  delight,  how  easily  could  he  have  had 


76  A    CALL   TO 

thee  long  ago  in  hell  ?  How  oft,  hefore  this,  could  he 
have  catched  thee  away  in  the  midst  of  thy  sins,  with 
a  curse,  or  oath,  or  lie  in  thy  mouth,  in  thy  ignorance, 
and  pride,  and  sensuality  ?  When  thou  wertlast  in  thy 
drunkenness,  or  last  deriding  the  ways  of  God,  how 
easily  could  he  have  stopped  thy  hreath,  and  tamed 
thee  with  plagues,  and  made  thee  soher  in  another 
world  ?  Alas !  how  small  a  matter  is  it  for  the  Almighty 
to  rule  the  tongue  of  the  profanest  railer,  and  tie  the 
hands  of  the  most  maUcioiis  persecutor,  or  calm  the 
fury  of  the  bitterest  of  his  enemies,  and  make  them 
know  that  they  are  but  worms  ?  If  he  should  but  irown 
upon  thee,  thou  wouldst  drop  into  thy  grave.  If  he 
gave  commission  to  one  of  his  angels  to  go  and  destroy 
ten  thousand  sinners,  how  quickly  would  it  be  done  ! 
how  easily  can  he  lay  thee  upon  the  bed  of  languish- 
ing, and  make  thee  lie  roaring  there  in  pain,  a^d  make 
thee  eat  the  words  of  reproach  which  thou  hast  spoken 
against  his  servants,  his  word,  his  worship,  and  his  holy 
ways,  and  make  thee  send  to  beg  their  prayers  whom 
thou  didst  despise  in  thy  presumption  ?  How  easily  can 
he  lay  that  flesh  under  pains,  and  groans,  and  make  it 
too  weak  to  hold  thy  soul,  and  make  it  more  loathsome 
than  the  dung  of  the  earth  ?  That  flesh  which  now 
must  have  what  it  loves,  and  must  not  be  displeased, 
though  God  be  displeased  ;  and  must  be  humoured  in 
meat,  and  drink,  and  clothes,  whatever  God  say  to  the 
contrary.,  how  quickly  would  the  frowns  of  God  con- 
sume it?  When  thou  wast  passionately  defending  thy 
sin,  and  quarrelling  with  them  that  would  have  drawn 
thee  from  it,  and  showing  thy  spleen  against  the  re- 
prover, and  pleading  for  the  works  of  darkness  ;  how 
easily  could  God  have  snatched  thee  away  in  a  mo- 
ment, and  set  thee  before  his  dreadful  Majesty,  where 
thou  shouldst  see  ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand 
glorious  angels  waiting  on  his  throne,  and  have  called 
thee  there  to  plead  thy  cause,  and  asked  thee,  '  What 
hast  thou  now  to  say  against  thy  Creator,  his  truth,  his 
servants,  or  his  holy  ways?  Now  plead  thy  cause,  and 
make  the  best  of  it  thou  canst.  Now  what  canst  thou 
say  in  excuse  of  thy  sins  ?   Now  give  account  of  thy 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  77 

worJiHiness  and  fleshy  life,  of  thy  time,  of  all  the  mercies 
thou  hast  had.'  O  how  thy  stubborn  heart  would 
have  melted,  and  thy  proud  looks  be  taken  down,  and 
thy  countenance  be  appalled,  and  thy  stout  words  turn- 
ed into  speechless  silence,  or  dreadful  cries,  if  God  had 
but  set  thee  thus  at  his  bar,  and  pleaded  his  own  cause 
with  thee,  Avhich  thou  hast  here  so  maliciously  pleaded 
against !  How  easily  can  he  at  any  time  say  to  thy 
guilty  soul.  Come  away,  and  live  in  that  flesh  no  more 
till  the  resurrection;  and  it  cannot  resist!  A  word  of 
liis  mouth  would  take  off"  the  poise  of  thy  present  life, 
and  then  all  thy  parts  and  powers  would  stand  still ; 
and  if  he  say  unto  thee,  Live  no  longer,  or,  live  in  hell, 
ihou  couldst  not  disobey. 

But  God  hath  yet  done  none  of  this,  but  hath  pa- 
tiently forborne  thee,  and  mercifully  upheld  thee,  and 
given  thee  that  breath,  which  thou  didst  breathe  out 
against  bin?,  and  given  those  mercies  which  thou  didst 
sacrifice  to  thy  flesh,  and  afforded  thee  that  provision 
which  thou  spentest  to  satisfy  thy  greedy  throat :  he 
gave  thee  every  minute  of  that  time  which  thou  didst 
waste  in  idleness,  or  drunkenness,  or  worldliness ;  and 
doth  not  all  his  patience  and  mercy  show  that  he  de- 
sired not  thy  damnation  ?  Can  the  candle  burn  without 
the  oil?  Can  your  houses  stand  without  the  earth  to 
bear  them  ?  No  more  can  you  live  an  hour  without 
the  support  of  God.  And  why  did  he  so  long  support 
thy  life,  but  to  see  when  thou  wouldst  bethink  thee  of 
the  folly  of  thy  ways,  and  return  and  live  ?  Will  any 
man  purposely  put  arms  into  his  enemy's  hands  to  re- 
sist him,  or  hold  a  candle  to  a  murderer  that  is  killing 
his  children,  or  to  an  idle  servant  that  plays  or  sleeps 
the  while  ?  Surely  it  is  to  see  whether  thou  wilt  at 
last  return  and  Uve,  that  God  hath  so  long  waited  on 
thee. 

5.  It  is  further  proved  by  the  suffering  of  his  Son, 
that  God  taketh  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked. 
Would  he  have  ransomed  them  from  death  at  so  dear 
a  rate  ?  Would  he  have  astonished  angels  and  men  by 
his  condescension  ?  W^ould  God  have  dwelt  in  flesh, 
and  have  come  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  and  have  as- 

■7* 


73  A  CALL   TO 

sumed  humanity  into  one  person  with  the  Godhead ; 
and  would  Christ  have  Uved  a  hfe  of  suffering,  and 
died  a  cursed  death  for  sinners,  if  he  had  rather  taken 
pleasure  in  their  death  ?  Suppose  you  saw  him  but  so 
busy  in  preaching  and  healing  of  them,  as  you  find  him 
in  Mark  iii.  21  ;  or  so  long  in  fasting,  as  in  Matt.  iv. ;  or 
all  night  in  prayer,  as  in  Luke  vi.  12;  or  praying  with 
the  drops  of  blood  trickling  from  him  instead  of  sw^eat, 
as  Luke  xxii.  44  ;  or  suffering  a  cursed  death  upon  the 
cross,  and  pouring  out  his  soul  as  a  sacrifice  for  our 
sins — would  you  have  thought  these  the  signs  of  one 
that  delighted  in  the  death  of  the  wicked? 

And  think  not  to  extenuate  it  by  saying,  that  it  was 
only  for  his  elect :  for  it  was  thy  sin,  and  the  sin  of  all  the 
world,  that  lay  upon  our  Redeemer :  and  his  sacrifice 
and  satisfaction  is  sufficient  for  all,  and  the  fruits  of  it 
are  offered  to  one  as  well  as  another.     But  it  is  true, 
that  it  was  never  the  intent  of  his  mind  to  pardon  and 
save  any  that  would  not,  by  faith  and  repentance,  be 
converted.     If  you  had  seen  and  heard  him  weeping 
and  bemoaning  the  state  of  disobedience  in  impenitent 
people :     lAike  xix.  41,  42.     "  And  when  he  was  come 
near,  he  beheld  the  city,  and  wept  over  it,  saying.  If 
thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in  this  thy  day, 
the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace  !  but  now  they 
are  hid  from  thine  eyes."     Or  complaining  of  their 
stubbornness,  as  Matt,  xxiii.  37.  "O  Jerusalem,  Jeru- 
salem, how  often  would  I  have  gathered  thy  children- 
together,  even  as  a  hen  gathereth  her  chickens  under 
her  wings,  and  ye  would  not !"     Or  if  you  had  seen 
and  heard  him  on  the  cross,  praying  for  his  persecu- 
tors— Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do — would  you  have  suspected  that  he  had  de- 
lighted in  the  death  of  the  wicked,  even  of  those  that 
perish  by  their  wilful  unbelief?     When  God  hath  so 
loved,  (not  only  loved,  but  so  loved,)  as  to  give  his 
only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
(by  an  effectual  faith)  should  not  perish,  but  have  ever- 
lasting life,  I  think  he  hath  hereby  proved,  against  the 
malice  of  men  and  devils,  that  he  takes  no  pleasure  in 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  79 

the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  had  rather  that  they  would 
*  turn  and  Uve." 

6.  Lastly,  if  all  this  will  not  yet  satisfy  you,  take  his 
own  word,  that  knoweth  best  his  own  mind,  or  at  least 
believe  his  oath :  but  this  leads  me  to  the  fourth  doc- 
trine. 

Doctrine  4.  The  Lord  hath  confirmed  to  us  by  his 
oath,  that  he  hath  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked,  but  rather  that  he  turn  and  live ;  that  he 
may  leave  man  no  pretence  to  question  the  truth 
of  it. 

[f  you  dare  question  his  word,  I  hope  you  dare  not 
question  his  oath.  As  Christ  hath  solemnly  protested 
that  the  unregenerate  and  unconverted  cannot  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  (Matt,  xviii.  3.  John  iii.  S ;) 
so  God  hath  sworn  that  his  pleasure  is  not  in  their  death, 
but  in  their  conversion  and  life.  And  as  the  Apostle 
saith,  (Heb.  iv.  13 — 18,)  Because  he  can  swear  by  no 
greater,  he  sware  by  himself.  '  For  men  verily  swear  by 
the  greater :  and  an  oath  for  confirmation  is  to  them  an 
end  of  strife.  Wherein  God,  willing  more  abundantly 
to  show  unto  the  heirs  of  promise  the  immutability  of 
his  counsel,  confirmed  it  by  an  oath  ;  that  by  two  im- 
mutable things  in  which  it  was  impossible  for  God  to 
lie,  we  might  have  strong  consolation,  who  have  fled 
for  refuge  to  lay  hold  on  the  hope  set  before  us :  which 
hope  we  have  as  an  anchor  of  the  soul  both  sure  and 
steadfast.'  If  there  be  any  man  that  cannot  reconcile 
this  truth  with  the  doctrine  of  predestination,  or  the 
actual  damnation  of  the  wicked,  that  is  his  own  igno- 
rance; he  hath  no  pretence  left  to  question  or  deny 
therefore  the  truth  of  the  point  in  hand  ;  for  this  is 
confirmed  by  the  oath  of  God,  and  therefore  must  not 
be  distorted,  to  reduce  it  to  other  points  :  but  doubtful 
points  must  rather  be  reduced  to  it,  and  certain  truths 
must  be  believed  to  agree  with  it,  though  our  shallow 
minds  hardly  discern  the  agreement. 

Use. — I  do  now  entreat  thee,  if  thou  be  an  uncoa- 


80  A   CALL  TO 

verted  sinner  that  hearest  these  words,  that  thou 
wouldst  ponder  a  httle  upon  the  forementioned  doc- 
trines, and  bethink  thyself  awhile,  who  it  is  that  takes 
pleasure  in  thy  sin  and  damnation.  Certainly,  it  is  not 
God  :  he  hath  sworn  for  his  part  that  he  takes  no  plea- 
sure in  it.  And  I  know  it  is  not  the  pleasing  of  him 
that  you  intend.  You  dare  not  say  that  you  drink, 
and  swear,  and  neglect  holy  duties,  and  quench  the 
motiens  of  the  Spirit  to  please  God.  That  were  as  if 
you  should  reproach  the  prince,  and  break  his  laws, 
and  seek  his  death,  and  say,  you  did  all  this  to  please 
him. 

Who  is  it  then  that  takes  pleasure  in  your  sin  and 
death  ?  Not  any  that  bear  the  image  of  God,  for  they 
must  be  like  minded  to  him.  God  knows,  it  is  small 
pleasure  to  your  faithful  teachers  to  see  you  serve  your 
deadly  enemy,  and  madly  venture  your  eternal  state, 
and  wilfully  run  into  the  flames  of  hell.  It  is  small 
pleasure  to  them  to  see  upon  your  souls  (in  the  sad 
effects)  such  blindness,  and  hard-heartedness,  and  care- 
lessness, and  presumption ;  such  wilfulness  in  evil,  and 
such  unteachableness  and  stiffness  against  the  ways  of 
life  and  peace  ;  they  know  these  are  marks  of  death, 
and  of  the  wrath  of  God,  and  they  know,  from  the 
word  of  God,  what  is  like  to  be  the  end  of  them,  and 
therefore  it  is  no  more  pleasure  to  them,  than  to  a 
tender  physician  to  see  the  plague-marks  broke  out 
upon  his  patient.  Alas,  to  foresee  your  everlasting 
torments,  and  knoAV  not  how  to  prevent  them !  To  see 
how  near  you  are  to  hell,  and  we  cannot  make  you 
believe  it  and  consider  it.  To  see  how  easily,  how 
certainly  you  might  escape,  if  we  knew  but  how  to 
make  you  willing.  How  fair  you  are  for  everlasting 
salvation,  if  you  would  turn  and  do  your  best,  and 
make  it  the  care  and  business  of  your  lives^.  but  you 
will  not  do  it;  if  our  Uves  lay  on  it,  we  cannot  per- 
suade you  to  it.  We  study  day  and  night  what  to  say 
to  you,  that  may  convince  and  persuade  you,  and  yet 
it  is  undone  :  we  lay  before  you  the  word  of  God,  and 
show  you  the  very  chapter  and  verse  where  it  is  writ- 
ten, that  you  cannot  be  saved  except  you  be  converted ; 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  81 

and  yet  we  leave  the  most  of  you  as  we  find  you.  We 
hope  you  will  believe  the  word  of  God,  though  you 
believe  not  us,  and  regard  it  when  we  show  you  the 
plain  scripture  for  it ;  but  we  hope  in  vain,  and  labour 
in  vain  as  to  any  saving  change  upon  your  hearts! 
And  do  you  think  that  this  is  a  pleasant  thing  to  us  ? 
Many  a  time,  in  secret  prayer,  we  are  fain  to  complain 
to  God  with  sad  hearts,  '  Alas,  Lord,  we  have  spoken 
to  them  in  thy  name,  but  they  little  regard  us :  we 
have  told  them  what  thou  bidst  us  tell  them  concerning 
the  danger  of  an  unconverted  state,  but  they  do  not 
believe  us :  we  have  told  them  that  thou  hast  protested 
that  there  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked.'  Isa.  xlviii.  2, 
and  Ivii.  21.  '  But  the  worst  of  them  all  will  scarcely 
believe  that  they  are  wicked ;  we  hav^e  showed  them 
thy  word,  where  thou  hast  said,  that  if  they  live  after 
the  flesh  they  shall  die.'  Rom.  viii.  13.  '  But  they  say 
they  will  believe  in  thee,  wdien  they  will  not  believe 
thee,  and  that  they  will  trust  in  thee,  when  they  give 
no  credit  to  thy  word ;  and  when  they  hope  that  the 
threatenings  of  thy  word  are  false,  they  will  yet  call 
this  a  hoping  in  God ;  and  though  we  show  them  where 
thou  hast  said,  that  when  a  wicked  man  dieth,  all  his 
hopes  perish,  yet  cannot  we  persuade  them  from  their 
deceitful  hopes.'  Prov.  xi.  7.  '  We  tell  them  what  a 
base,  unprofitable  thing  sin  is ;  but  they  love  it,  and 
therefore  will  not  leave  it.  We  tell  them  how  dear 
they  buy  this  pleasure,  and  what  they  must  pay  for  it 
in  everlasting  torment ;  and  they  bless  themselves,  and 
will  not  believe  it,  but  will  do  as  the  most  do :  and  be- 
cause God  is  merciPdl,  they  will  not  believe  him,  but 
will  venture  their  souls,  come  on  it  what  will.  We  tell 
them  how  ready  the  Lord  is  to  receive  them,  and  this 
doth  but  make  them  delay  their  repentance  and  be 
bolder  in  their  sin.  Some  of  them  say  they  purpose 
to  repent,  but  they  are  still  the  same  ;  and  some  say 
they  do  repent  already,  while  yet  they  are  not  con- 
verted from  their  sins.  We  exhort  them,  we  entreat 
them,  we  offer  them  our  help,  but  we  cannot  prevail 
with  them ;  but  they  that  were  drunkards,  are  drunk- 
ards still ;  and  they  that  were  voluptuous  flesh-pleasing 


82  A  CALL   TO 

wretches,  are  such  still ;  and  they  that  were  world- 
lings, are  worldlings  still ;  and  they  that  were  ignorant, 
and  proud,  and  self-conceited,  are  so  still.  Few  of 
them  will  see  and  confess  their  sin,  and  fewer  will  for- 
sake it,  but  comfort  themselves  that  all  men  are  sinners, 
as  if  there  were  no  difference  between  a  converted 
sinner  and  an  unconverted.  Some  of  them  will  not 
come  near  us,  when  we  are  willing  to  instruct  them, 
but  think  they  know  enough  already,  and  need  not  our 
instruction ;  and  some  of  them  will  give  us  the  hear- 
ing, and  do  what  they  list ;  and  most  of  them  are  like 
dead  men  that  cannot  feel;  so  that  when  we  tell  them 
of  the  matters  of  everlasting  consequence,  we  cannot 
get  a  word  of  it  to  their  hearts.  If  we  do  not  obey 
them,  and  humour  them  in  baptizing  the  children  of 
the  most  obstinately  wicked,  and  giving  them  the  Lord's 
Supper,  and  doing  all  that  they  would  have  us,  though 
never  so  much  against  the  word  of  God,  they  will  hate 
us,  and  rail  at  us ;  but  if  we  beseech  them  to  confess, 
and  forsake  their  sins,  and  save  their  souls,  they  will 
not  do  it.  We  tell  them,  if  they  will  but  turn,  we  will 
deny  them  none  of  the  ordinances  of  God,  neither 
baptism  to  their  children,  nor  the  Lord's  Supper  to 
themselves,  but  they  will  not  hear  us ;  they  would 
have  us  disobey  God  and  damn  our  own  souls,  to  please 
them ;  and  yet  they  will  not  turn  and  save  their  own 
souls  to  please  God.  They  are  wiser  in  their  own 
eyes  than  all  their  teachers  ;  they  rage  and  are  confi- 
dent in  their  own  way,  and  if  we  were  never  so  fain, 
we  cannot  change  them.  Lord,  this  is  the  case  of  our 
miserable  neighbours,  and  we  cannot  help  it ;  we  see 
them  ready  to  drop  into  hell,  and  we  cannot  help  it ; 
we  know  if  they  would  unfeignedly  turn,  they  might 
be  saved,  but  we  cannot  persuade  them ;  if  we  would 
beg  it  of  them  on  our  knees,  we  cannot  persuade  them 
to  it ;  if  we  would  beg  it  of  them  with  tears,  we  can- 
not persuade  them;  and  what  more  can  we  do  .'* 

These  are  the  secret  complaints  and  moans  that 
many  a  poor  minister  is  fain  to  make.  And  do  you 
think  that  he  hath  any  pleasure  in  this?  Is  it  a  pleasure 
to  him  to  see  you  go  on  in  sin,  and  cannot  stop  you? 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  8S 

to  see  you  so  miserable,  and  cannot  so  much  as  make 
you  sensible  of  it  ?  to  see  you  merry,  when  you  are  not 
sure  to  be  an  hour  out  of  hell?  to  think  what  you  must 
for  ever  suffer,  because  you  will  not  turn  ?  and  to  think 
what  an  everlasting  life  of  glory  you  wilfully  despise 
and  cast  away?  What  sadder  thing  can  you  bring  to 
their  hearts,  and  how  can  you  devise  to  grieve  them 
liiore? 

Who  is  it  then  that  you  please  by  your  sin  and 
death  ?  It  is  none  of  your  understanding  godly  friends. 
Alas,  it  is  the  grief  of  their  souls  to  see  your  misery, 
and  they  lament  you  many  a  time  when  you  give  them 
little  thanks  for  it,  and  when  you  have  not  hearts  to 
lament  yourselves. 

Who  is  it  then  that  takes  pleasure  in  your  sin  ?  It 
is  none  but  three  great  enemies  of  God,  whom  you  re- 
nounced in  your  baptism,  and  now  are  turned  falsely 
to  serve. 

1.  The  devil  indeed  takes  pleasure  in  your  sin  and 
death  :  for  this  is  the  very  end  of  all  his  temptations  ; 
for  this  he  watches  night  and  day ;  you  cannot  devise 
to  please  him  better  than  to  go  on  in  sin.  How  glad 
is  he  when  he  sees  thee  going  into  the  alehouse,  or 
other  sin,  and  when  he  heareth  thee  curse,  or  swear, 
or  rail  ?  How  glad  is  he  when  he  heareth  thee  revile 
the  minister  that  would  draw  thee  from  thy  sin,  and 
help  to  save  thee  ?     These  are  his  delight. 

2.  The  wicked  are  also  delighted  in  it;  for  it  is 
agreeable  to  their  nature. 

3.  But  I  know,  for  all  this,  that  it  is  not  the  pleasing 
of  the  devil,  that  you  intend,  even  when  you  please 
him ;  but  it  is  your  own  flesh,  the  greatest  and  most 
dangerous  enemy,  that  you  intend  to  please.  It  is  the 
flesh  that  would  be  pampered,  that  would  be  pleased 
in  meat,  and  drink,  and  clothing ;  that  would  be  pleased 
in  your  company,  and  pleased  in  applause  and  credit 
with  the  world,  and  pleased  in  sports,  and  lusts,  and 
idleness  ;  this  is  the  gulf  that  devoureth  all.  This  is 
the  very  god  that  you  serve,  for  the  scripture  saith 
of  such,  that  their  bellies  are  their  gods.  Phil.  iii.  19. 
But  I  beseech  you  stay  a  little  and  consider  the  business. 


84  A  CALL  TO 

1  Question.  Should  your  flesh  be  pleased  before 
your  Maker?  Will  you  displease  the  Lord,  and  dis- 
please your  teacher,  and  your  godly  friends,  and  all  to 
please  your  brutish  appetites,  or  sensual  desires?  Is 
not  God  worthy  to  be  the  ruler  of  your  flesh  ?  If  lie 
shall  not  rule  it,  he  will  not  save  it ;  you  cannot  in  rea- 
son expect  that  he  should. 

2  Question.  Your  flesh  is  pleased  with  your  sin ; 
but  is  your  conscience  pleased  ?  Doth  not  it  grudge 
within  you,  and  tell  you  sometimes  that  all  is  not  well, 
and  that  your  case  is  not  so  safe  as  you  make  it  to  be ; 
and  should  not  your  souls  and  consciences  be  pleased 
before  your  corruptible  flesh  ? 

3  Question.  But  is  not  your  flesh  preparing  for 
its  own  displeasure  also?  It  loves  the  bait,  but  doth 
it  love  the  hook  ?  It  loves  the  strong  drink  and  sweet 
morsels ;  it  loves  its  ease,  and  sports  and  merriment ; 
it  loves  to  be  rich,  and  well  spoken  of  by  men,  and  to 
be  somebody  in  the  world ;  but  doth  it  love  the  curse  ot 
God  ?  Doth  it  love  to  stand  trembling  before  his  bar, 
and  to  be  judged  to  everlasting  fire  ?  Doth  it  love  to 
be  tormented  with  the  devils  for  ever  ?  Take  all  to- 
gether ;  for  there  is  no  separating  sin  and  hell,  but 
only  by  faith  and  true  conversion ;  if  you  will  keep 
one,  you  must  have  the  other.  If  death  and  hell  be 
pleasant  to  thee,  no  wonder  then  if  you  go  on  in  sin : 
but  if  they  be  not,  (as  I  am  sure  they  are  not,)  then 
what  if  sin  were  never  so  pleasant,  is  it  worth  the  loss 
of  life  eternal  ?  Is  a  little  drink,  or  meat,  or  ease  ;  is 
the  good  word  of  sinners,  is  the  riches  of  this  world, 
to  be  valued  above  the  joys  of  heaven  ?  Or  are  they 
worth  the  sufferings  of  eternal  fire  ?  Sirs,  these  ques- 
tions should  be  considered  before  you  go  any  further, 
by  every  man  that  hath  reason  to  consider,  and  that 
believes  he  hath  a  soul  to  save  or  lose. 

Well,  the  Lord  here  sweareth  that  he  hath  no  plea- 
sure in  your  death,  but  rather  that  you  would  turn  and 
Hve ;  if  yet  you  will  go  on  and  die  rather  than  turn, 
remember  it  was  not  to  please  God  that  you  did  it :  it 
was  to  please  the  world,  and  to  please  yourselves.  And 
if  men  will  damn  themselves  to  please  themselves,  and 


THE    UI7C0NVERTED.  85 

run  into  endless  torments  for  delight,  and  have  not  the 
wit,  the  hearts,  the  grace,  to  hearken  to  God  or  man 
that  would  reclaim  them,  what  remedy  but  they  must 
take  what  they  get  by  it,  and  repent  it  in  another  man- 
ner, when  it  is  too  late  ?  Before  I  proceed  any  further 
in  the  application,  I  shall  come  to  the  next  doctrine, 
which  mves  me  a  fuller  ground  for  it. 

Doctrine  5.  So  earnest  is  God  for  the  conversion  of 
sinners,  that  he  doubleth  his  commands  and  exhor- 
tations, with  vehemency — Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why 
will  you  die  ? 

This  doctrine  is  the  application  of  the  former,  as  by 
a  use  of  exhortation,  and  accordingly  I  shall  handle  it. 
Is  there  ever  an  unconverted  sinner  that  heareth  these 
vehement  words  of  God  ?  Is  there  ever  a  man  or 
woman  in  this  assembly  that  is  yet  a  stranger  to  the 
renewing  sanctifying  work  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  It  is  a 
happy  assembly,  if  it  be  not  so  with  the  most.  Hearken 
then  to  the  voice  of  your  Maker,  and  turn  to  him 
by  Christ  without  delay.  Would  you  knov/  the  will 
of  God  ?  Why,  this  is  his  will,  that  you  presently  turn. 
Shall  the  living  God  send  so  earnest  a  message  to  his 
creatures,  and  should  they  not  obey  ?  2.  Hearken 
then,  all  you  that  live  after  the  flesh :  the  Lord  that 
gave  thee  thy  breath  and  being,  hath  sent  a  message 
to  thee  from  heaven ;  and  this  is  his  message.  Turn 
ye,  turn  t/e,  why  will  ye  die  ? — He  that  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear.  Shall  the  voice  of  the  eternal 
Majesty  be  neglected  •  If  he  do  but  terribly  thunder, 
thou  art  afraid.  O  but  this  voice  doth  more  nearly 
concern  thee.  If  he  did  but  tell  thee  thou  shalt  die  to- 
morrow, thou  wouldst  not  make  light  of  it.  O  but  this 
word  concerneth  thy  life  or  death  everlasting.  It  is 
both  a  command  and  an  exhortation.  As  if  he  had 
said  to  thee,  '  I  charge  thee  upon  the  allegiance  that 
thou  owest  to  me  thy  Creator  and  Redeemer,  that  thou 
renounce  the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil,  and  turn 
to  me  that  thou  mayest  live.  I  condescend  to  entreat 
thee,  as  thou  either  lovest  or  fearest  him  that  made 

8 


86  A   CALL   TO 

thee ;  as  thou  lovest  thine  own  life,  even  thine  ever- 
lasting life,  turn  and  live  :  as  ever  thou  wouldst  escape 
eternal  misery,  turn,  turn,  for  why  wilt  thou  die  ?'  And 
is  there  a  heart  in  man,  in  a  reasonable  creature,  that 
can  once  refuse  such  a  message,  such  a  command,  such 
an  exhortation  as  this?  O  what  a  thing,  then,  is  the 
heart  of  man! 

Hearken,  then,  all  that  love  yourselves,  and  all  that 
regard  your  own  salvation;  here  is  the  most  joyful 
message  that  was  ever  sent  to  the  ears  of  man,  "  Turn 
ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?"  You  are  not  yet  shut 
up  under  desperation.  Here  is  mercy  offered  you ; 
turn,  and  you  shall  have  it.  O  sirs  !  with  what  glad 
and  joyfufhearts  should  you  receive  these  tidings!  I 
know  this  is  not  the  first  time  that  you  have  heard  it ; 
but  how  have  you  regarded  it,  or  how  do  you  regard 
it  now  ?  Hear,  all  yoli  ignorant,  careless  sinners,  the 
word  of  the  Lord.  "^Hear,  all  you  worldlings,  you  sen- 
sual flesh-pleasers ;  you  gluttons,  and  drunkards,  and 
whoremongers,  and"^ swearers ;  you  railers  and  back- 
biters, slanderers  and  liars — Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will 
ye  die  ? 

Hear,  all  you  cold  and  outside  professors,  and  all 
that  are  strangers  to  the  Ufe  of  Christ,  and  never  knew 
the  power  of  his  cross  and  resurrection,  and  never  felt 
your  hearts  -warmed  with  his  love,  and  live  not  on  him 
as  the  strength  of  your  souls—"  Turn  ye.  turn  ye,  why 
will  ye  die  ?" 

Hear,  all  that  are  void  of  the  love  of  God,  whose 
hearts  are  not  toward  him,  nor  taken  up  with  the  hopes 
of  glory,  but  set  more  by  your  earthly  prosperity  and 
delights  than  by  the  joys  of  heaven ;  all  you  that  are 
religious  but  a  Uttle  by  the  by,  and  give  God  no  more 
than  your  flesh  can  spare  ;  that  have  not  denied  your 
carnal  selves,  and  forsaken  all  that  you  have  for  Christ, 
in  the  estimation  and  grounded  resolution  of  your  souls, 
but  have  some  one  thing  in  the  world  so  dear  to  you, 
that  you  cannot  spare  ft  for  Christ,  if  he  required  it, 
but  will  rather  venture  on  his  displeasure  than  forsake 
.t — "  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?" 

If  you  never  heard  it,  or  observed  it  before,  remem- 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  87 

ber  that  you  were  told  from  the  word  of  God  this  day, 
that  if  you  will  but  turn,  you  may  live  ;  and  if  you  will 
not  turn,  you  shall  surely  die. 

_  What  now  will  you  do,  sirs?  What  is  your  resolu 
lion?  Will  you  turn,  or  will  you  not?  Halt  not  any 
longer  between  two  opinions."  If  the  Lord  be  God, 
follow  him:  if  your  flesh  be  God,  then  serve  it  still! 
If  heaven  be  better  than  earth  and  fleshly  pleasures, 
come  away,  then,  and  seek  a  better  country,  and  lay 
up  your  treasure  where  rust  and  moths  do  not  corrupt, 
and  thieves  cannot  break  through  and  steal ;  and  be 
awakened  at  last,  with  all  your  might  to  seek  the  kino-- 
dom  that  cannot  be  moved,  Heb.  xii.  28  ;  and  to  em- 
ploy your  lives  on  a  higher  design,  and  turn  the  stream 
of  your  cares,  and  labours,  another  way  than  formerly 
you  have  done.  But  if  earth  be  better  than  heaven, 
or  will  do  more  for  you,  or  last  you  longer,  then  keep 
it,  and  make  your  best  of  it,  and  follow°it  still.  Sirs, 
are  you  resolved  what  to  do  ?  If  you  be  not,  I  will  set 
a  few  more  moving  considerations  before  you,  to  see  if 
reason  will  make  you  resolve. 

Consider,  first,  what  preparations  mercy  hath  made 
for  your  salvation ;  and  what  pity  it  is,  that  any  man 
should  be  damned  after  all  this.  The  time  was,  when 
the  flaming  sword  was  in  the  way,  and  the  curse  of 
God's  law  would  have  kept  thee  back,  if  thou  hadst 
been  never  so  willing  to  turn  to  God.  The  time  was. 
when  thyself,  and  all  the  friends  that  thou  hast  in  the 
world,  could  never  have  produced  thee  the  pardon  of 
thy  sins  past,  though  thou  hadst  never  so  much  la- 
mented and  reformed  them.  But  Christ  hath  removed 
this  impediment,  by  the  ransom  of  his  blood.  The 
time  was,  that  God  was  wholly  unreconciled,  as  beino- 
not  satisfied  for  the  violation  of  his  law  ;  but  now  he 
is  so  far  satisfied  and  reconciled,  as  that  he  hath  made 
thee  a  free  act  of  oblivion,  and  a  free  deed  of  gift  of 
Christ  and  life,  and  offereth  it  to  thee,  and  entreateth 
thee  to  accept  it ;  and  it  may  be  thine,  if  thou  wilt. 
For,  "  he  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  to  him- 
self, and  hath  committed  to  us  the  word  of  reconcilia- 
tion."   2  Cor.  V.  18,  19.    Sinners,  we  too  are  com- 


88  A  CALL,   TO 

manded  to  deliver  this  message  to  you  all,  as  from  the 
Lord ;  "  Come,  for  all  things  are  ready."  Luke  xiv. 
17.  Are  all  things  ready,  and  are  you  unready?  God 
\s  ready  to  entertain  you,  and  pardon  all  that  you  have 
done  against  him,  if  you  will  but  come.  As  long  as 
you  have  sinned,  as  wilfully  as  you  have  sinned,  he  is 
ready  to  cast  all  behind  his  back,  if  you  will  but  come. 
Though  you  have  been  prodigals,  and  run  away  from 
God,  and  have  staid  so  long,  he  is  ready  even  to  meet 
you,  and  embrace  you  in  his  arms,  and  rejoice  in  your 
conversion,  if  you  Avill  but  turn.  Even  the  worldlings 
and  drunkards  will  find  God  ready  to  bid  them  wel- 
come, if  they  will  but  come.  Doth  not  this  turn  thy 
heart  within  thee  ?  0  sinner  1  if  thou  hast  a  heart  of 
flesh,  and  not  of  stone  in  thee,  methinks  this  should 
melt  it.  Should  the  dreadful  infinite  Majesty  of  heaven 
even  wait  for  thy  returning,  and  be  ready  to  receive 
thee,  who  hast  abused  him,  and  forgotten  him  so  long? 
Shall  he  delight  in  thy  conversion,  that  might  at  any 
time  glorify  his  justice  in  thy  damnation?  and  yet  doth 
it  not  melt  thy  heart  within  thee,  and  art  thou  not  yet 
ready  to  come  in?  Hast  thou  not  as  much  reason  to 
be  ready  to  come,  as  God  hath  to  invite  thee  and  bid 
thee  welcome  ? 

But  that  is  not  all :  Christ  hath  done  his  part  on  the 
cross,  and  made  such  way  for  thee  to  the  Father,  that, 
on  his  account,  thou  mayst  be  welcome,  if  thou  wilt 
come.     And  yet  art  thou  not  ready  ? 

A  pardon  is  already  expressly  granted,  and  offered 
thee  in  the  Gospel.     And  yet  art  thou  not  ready? 

The  ministers  of  the  Gospel  are  ready  to  assist  thee, 
to  instruct  thee,  and  pronounce  the  absolving  words  of 
peace  to  thy  soul ;  they  are  ready  to  pray  for  thee,  and 
to  seal  up  thy  pardon  by  the  administration  of  the  holy 
sacrament.     And  yet  art  thou  not  ready  ? 

All  that  fear  God  about  thee,  are  ready  to  rejoice  in 
thy  conversion,  and  to  i-eceive  thee  into  the  commu- 
nion of  saints,  and  to  give  thee  the  right  hand  of  fel- 
lowship, yea,  though  thou  hadst  been  one  that  had 
been  cast  out  of  their  society:  they  dare  not  but  for- 
give where  God  forgiveth,  Avhen  it  is  manifest  to  them, 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  89 

by  thy  confession  and  amendment ;  they  dare  not  so 
much  as  reproach  thee  with  thy  former  sins,  because 
they  know  that  God  will  not  upbraid  thee  with  them. 
If  thou  hadst  been  never  soscandalous,  if  thou  wouldst 
but  heartily  be  converted  and  come  in,  they  would  not 
refuse  thee,  let  the  world  say  what  they  would  against 
it.  And  are  all  these  ready  to  receive  thee,  and  yet  art 
thou  not  ready  to  come  in  ? 

Yea,  heaven  itself  is  ready :  the  Lord  will  receive 
thee  into  the  glory  of  his  saints.  Vile  as  thou  hast 
been,  if  thou  wilt  be  but  cleansed,  thou  mayest  have  a 
place  before  his  throne  ;  his  angels  will  be  ready  to 
guard  thy  soul  to  the  place  of  joy,  if  thou  do  but  un- 
leignedly  come  in.  And  is  God  ready,  the  sacrifice  of 
Christ  ready,  the  promise  ready,  and  pardon  ready  .'* 
are  ministers  ready,  and  the  people  of  God  ready,  and 
heaven  itself  ready?  and  angels  ready?  and  all  these 
but  waiting  for  thy  conversion ;  and  yet  art  thou  not 
ready?  What!  not  ready  to  live,  when  thou  hast  been 
dead  so  long?  not  ready  to  come  to  thy  right  under- 
standing as  the  prodigal  is  said  to  "  come  to  himself," 
Luke  XV.  17,  when  thou  hast  been  beside  thyself  so 
long  ?  Not  ready  to  be  saved,  when  thou  art  even 
ready  to  be  condemned  ?  Art  thou  not  ready  to  lay 
hold  on  Christ,  that  would  deliver  thee,  when  thou  art 
even  ready  to  sink  into  damnation  ?  Art  thou  not  ready 
to  be  drawn  from  hell,  when  thou  art  even  ready  to  be 
cast  remediless  into  it?  Alas,  man!  dost  thou  know 
what  thou  doest?  If  thou  die  unconverted,  there  is  no 
doubt  to  be  made  of  thy  damnation;  and  thou  art  not 
sure  to  live  an  hour.  And  yet  art  thou  not  ready  to 
turn  and  to  come  in  ?  O  miserable  wretch !  Hast  thou 
not  served  the  flesh  and  the  devil  long  enough  ?  Yet 
hast  thou  not  enough  of  sin  ?  Is  it  so  good  to  thee,  or 
so  profitable  for  thee?  Dost  thou  know  what  it  is,  that 
thou  wouldst  yet  have  more  of  it?  Hast  thou  had  so 
many  calls,  and  so  many  mercies,  and  so  many  warn- 
ings, and  so  many  examples  ?  Hast  thou  seen  so  many 
laid  in  the  grave,  and  yet  art  thou  not  ready  to  let  go 
thy  sins,  and  come  to  Christ?  What !  after  so  many 
convictions  and  pangs  of  conscience,  after  so  many 

8^ 


90  A   CALL  TO 

purposes  and  promises,  art  thou  not  yet  ready  to  turn 
and  live  ?  O  that  thy  eyes,  thy  heart,  were  opened  to 
know  how  fair  an  offer  is  now  made  to  thee !  and  what  a 
joyful  message  it  is  that  we  are  sent  on,  to  bid  thee 
come,  for  all  things  are  ready  ! 

II.  Consider  also,  what  calls  thou  hast  to  turn  and 
live.  How  many,  how  loud,  how  earnest,  how  dread- 
ful :  and  yet  what  encouraging,  joyful  calls !  For  the 
principal  inviter  is  God  himself  He  that  eommandeth 
heaven  and  earth,  commands  thee  to  turn,  and  that 
presently,  without  delay.  He  commands  the  sun  to 
run  its  course,  and  to  rise  upon  thee  every  morning  ^ 
and  though  it  be  so  glorious  an  orb,  and  many  times 
bigger  than  all  the  earth,  yet  it  obeyeth  him,  and 
faileth  not  one  minute  of  its  appointed  time.  He  eom- 
mandeth all  the  planets,  and  the  orbs  of  heaven,  and 
they  obey.  He  eommandeth  the  sea  to  ebb  and  flow, 
and  the  w^hole  creation  to  keep  its  course,  and  all  obey 
him :  the  angels  of  heaven  obey  his  will,  when  he 
sends  them  to  minister  to  such  worms  as  we  on  earth, 
Heb.  i.  14;  and  yet  if  he  command  but  a  sinner  to 
turn,  he  will  not  obey  him.  He  only  thinks  himself 
wiser  than  God,  and  he  cavils  and  pleads  the  cause  ol 
sin,  and  will  not  obey.  If  the  Lord  Almighty  say  the 
word,  the  heavens  and  all  therein  obey  him :  but  if  he 
call  but  a  drunkard  out  of  an  alehouse,  he  will  not 
obey :  or  if  he  call  a  Avorldly  fleshly  sinner  to  deny 
himself,  and  mortify  the  flesh,  and  set  his  heart  upon  a 
better  inheritance,  he  will  not  obey. 

If  thou  hadst  any  love  in  thee,  thou  wouldst  know 
the  voice,  and  say,  0  this  is  my  Father's  call !  how 
can  I  find  in  my  heart  to  disobey?  For  the  sheep  of 
Christ  "  know  and  hear  his  voice,  and  they  follow  him 
and  he  giveth  them  eternal  life."  John  x.  4.  If  thou 
hadst  any  spiritual  life  and  sense  in  thee,  at  least  thou 
wouldst  say,  This  call  is  the  dreadful  voice  of  God,  and 
who  dare  disobey?  For  saith  the  prophet,  (Amos  iii. 
S.)  "  The  lion  hath  roared,  who  will  not  fear?"  God  is 
not  a  man,  that  thou  shouldst  dally  and  trifle  with  him. 
Remember  what  he  said  to  Paul  at  his  conversion, 
"  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks.'"'  Acts 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  91 

ix.  5.  Wilt  thou  yet  go  on  and  despise  his  word,  and 
resist  his  Spirit,  and  stop  thine  ear  against  his  call  ? 
who  is  it  that  will  have  the  worst  of  this  ?  Dost  thou 
know  whom  thou  disobeyest,  and  contendest  with,  and 
what  thou  art  doing  ?  It  were  a  far  wiser  and  easier 
task  for  thee  to  contend  with  the  thorns,  and  spurn 
them  with  thy  bare  feet,  and  beat  them  with  thy  bare 
hands,  or  put  thine  head  into  the  burning  fire.  "  Be 
not  deceived  ;  God  will  not  be  mocked."  Gal.  vi.  7. 
Whoever  else  be  mocked,  God  will  not :  you  had  bet- 
ter play  with  the  fire  in  your  thatch,  than  with  the  fire 
of  his  burning  wrath.  "  For  our  God  is  a  consuming 
fire."  Heb.  xii.  29.  O  how  unmeet  a  match  art  thou 
{iw  God  !  "It  is  a  fearful  thing  to  fill  into  his  hands." 
Heb.  X.  31.  And  therefore  it  is  a  fearful  thing  to  con- 
tend with  him,  or  resist  him.  As  you  love  your  own 
souls,  take  heed  what  you  do :  what  will  you  say  if  he 
begin  in  wrath  to  plead  with  you  .''  What  will  you  do 
if  he  take  you  once  in  hand?  will  you  then  strive 
against  his  judgment,  as  now  ye  do  a^^ainst  his  grace  ? 
Isa.  xxvii.  4,  5.  "  Fiwy  is  not  in  me,  saith  the  Lord  : 
{that  is,)  I  delight  not  to  destroy  you  :  I  do  it,  as  it  were, 
unwillingly ;  but  yet  "  ivho  ivill  set  the  briers  and  thorns 
against  me  in  battle?  I  would  go  through  them;  I 
would  burn  them  togethei'.  Or  let  him  take  hold  of  my 
strength,  that  he  may  make  peace  loith  me.''  It  is  an 
unequal  combat  for  the  briers  and  stubble  to  make  war 
with  the  fire. 

And  thus  you  see,  who  it  is  that  calleth  you,  that 
would  move  you  to  hear  his  call,  and  turn :  so  consider 
also  by  what  instruments,  and  how  often,  and  how 
earnestly  he  doth  it. 

1.  Every  leaf  of  the  blessed  book  of  God  hath,  as  it 
were,  a  voice,  and  calls  out  to  thee.  Turn,  and  live ; 
turn,  or  thou  wilt  die.  How  canst  thou  open  it,  and 
read  a  leaf,  or  hear  a  chapter,  and  not  perceive  God 
bids  thee  turn  ? 

2.  It  is  the  voice  of  every  sermon  that  thou  hearest; 
for  what  else  is  the  scope  and  drift  of  all,  but  to  call  and 
persuade,  and  entreat  thee  for  to  turn. 

S.  It  is  the  voice  of  many  a  motion  of  the  Spirit  that 


92  A   CALL   TO 

secretly  speaks  over  these  words  again,  and  urgeth 
thee  to  turn. 

4.  It  is  likely,  sometime  it  is  the  voice  of  thy  own  con- 
science. Art  thou  not  sometimes  convinced  that  all  is 
not  well  with  thee  ?  And  doth  not  thy  conscience  tell 
thee  that  thou  must  be  a  new  man,  and  take  a  new 
course,  and  often  call  upon  thee  to  return.'* 

5.  It  is  the  voice  of  the  gracious  examples  of  the 
godly.  When  thou  seest  them  live  a  heavenly  life,  and 
fly  from  the  sin  which  is  thy  delight,  this  really  calls 
on  thee  to  turn. 

6.  It  is  the  voice  of  all  the  works  of  God :  for  they 
also  are  God's  books  that  teach  thee  this  lesson,  by 
showing  thee  his  greatness,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness, 
and  calling  thee  to  observe  them,  and  admire  the  Crea- 
tor. Psalm  xix.  1,2.  "  The  heavens  declare  the  glory 
of  God,  and  the  firmament  showeth  his  handy-work : 
day  unto  day  uttereth  speech,  night  unto  night  showeth 
knowledge."  Every  time  the  sun  riseth  unto  thee,  it 
really  calleth  thee  to  turn,  as  if  it  should  say,  "  What 
do  I  travel  and  compass  the  world  for,  but  to  declare  to 
men  the  glory  of  their  Maker,  and  to  light  them  to  do 
his  work  ?  And  do  I  still  find  thee  doing  the  work  of 
sin,  and  sleeping  out  thy  life  in  negligence?  Awake 
thou  that  sleepest,  and  arise  from  the  dead,  and  Christ 
shall  give  thee  light."  Ephes.  v.  14.  "The  night  is 
far  spent,  the  day  is  at  hand ;  it  is  now  high  time  to 
awake  out  of  sleep.  Let  us  therefore  cast  off  the 
works  of  darkness,  and  let  us  put  on  the  armour  of 
.ight.  Let  us  walk  honestly  as  in  the  day,  not  in  riot- 
ing and  drunkenness,  not  in  chambering  and  wanton- 
ness, not  in  strife  and  envying,  but  put  ye  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  make  not  provision  for  the  flesh,  to 
fulfil  the  lusts  thereof."  Rom.  xiii.  11 — 14.  This  text 
was  the  means  of  Austin's  conversion. 

7.  It  is  the  voice  of  every  mercy  thou  dost  possess  ; 
if  thou  couldst  but  hear  and  understand  them,  they  all 
cry  out  unto  thee.  Turn.  Why  doth  the  earth  bear 
thee,  but  to  seek  and  serve  the  Lord  ?  Why  doth  it 
afford  thee  its  fruits,  but  to  serve  him  ?  Why  doth  the 
air  afford  thee  breath,  but  to  serve  him  ?    Why  do  all 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  93 

the  creatures  serve  thee  wiih  their  lahours  and  their 
Uves,  but  that  thou  mightst  serve  the  Lord  of  them 
and  thee?  Why  doth  he  give  thee  time,  and  health, 
and  strength,  hut  only  to  serve  him  ?  Why  hast  thou 
meat,  and  drink,  and  clothes,  but  for  his  service  ?  Hast 
thou  anv  thing  which  thou  hast  not  received  ?  and  if 
thou  didst  receive  them,  it  is  reason  thou  shouldst  be- 
think thee  from  whom,  and  to  what  end  and  use  thou 
didst  receive  them.  Didst  thou  never  cry  to  him  for 
help  in  thy  distress,  and  didst  thou  not  then  under- 
stand that  it  was  thy  part  to  turn  and  serve  him,  if  he 
would  deliver  thee  ?  He  hath  done  his  part,  and  spared 
thee  yet  longer,  and  tried  thee  another,  and  another 
year;  and  j^et  dost  thou  not  turn?  You  know  the 
parable  of  the  unfruitful  fig-tree,  Luke  xiii.  7 — 9. 
When  the  Lord  had  said,  "  Cut  it  down,  why  cumber- 
eth  it  the  ground?"  he  was  entreated  to  try  it  one 
year  longer,  and  then  if  it  proved  not  fruitful,  to  cut  it 
down.  Christ  himself  there  makes  the  application 
twice  over,  ver.  3  and  5.  "  Except  ye  repent  ye  shall 
all  likewise  perish."  How  many  years  hath  God  look- 
ed for  the  fruits  of  love  and  holiness  trom  thee,  and 
hath  found  none,  and  yet  he  hath  spared  thee  ?  How 
many  a  time,  by  thy  wilful  ignorance,  and  carelessness, 
and  disobedience,  hast  thou  provoked  justice  to  say, 
"Cut  him  down,  why  cumbereth  he  the  ground?" 
And  yet  mercy  hath  prevailed,  and  patience  hath  for- 
borne the  fatal  blow,  to  this  day.  If  thou  hadst  the 
understanding  of  a  man  within  thee,  thou  wouldst  know 
that  all  this  calleth  thee  to  turn.  "  Dost  thou  think 
thou  shalt  still  escape  the  judgment  of  God  ?  or  de- 
spisest  thou  the  riches  of  his  goodness,  and  forbear- 
ance, and  long  suffering?  not  knowing  that  the  goodness 
of  God  leadeth  thee  to  repentance.  But,  after  thy 
hardness  and  impenitent  heart,  treasurest  up  unto 
thyself  wrath  against  the  day  of  wrath,  and  revelation 
of  the  righteous  judgment  of  God ;  who  will  render 
to  every  man  according  to  his  deeds."  Rom.  ii.  3 — €. 
8.  Moreover,  it  is  the  voice  of  every  affliction  to 
call  thee  to  make  haste  and  turn.  Sickness  and  pain 
cry.  Turn :  and  poverty,  and  loss  of  friendSj  and  every 


94  A   CALL    TO 

twig  of  the  chasteu'ing  rod,  cry,  Turn  ;  and  yet  wilt 
thou  not  hearken  to  the  call  ?  These  have  come  near 
thee,  and  made  thee  feel;  they  have  made  tliee  groan, 
and  can  they  not  make  thee  turn  ? 

9.  The  very  frame  of  thy  nature  and  being  itself, 
bespeaketh  thy  return.  Why  hast  thou  reason,  but  to 
rule  thy  flesh,  and  serve  thy  Lord?  Why  hast  thou 
an  understanding  soul,  but  to  learn  and  know  his  will 
and  do  it?  Why  hast  thou  a  heart  within  thee,  that 
can  love,  and  fear,  and  desire,  but  that  thou  shouldst 
fear  him,  and  love  him,  and  desire  after  liim  ? 

10.  Yea,  thine  own  engagements  by  promise  to  the 
Lord,  call  upon  thee  to  turn  and  serve  him.  Thou 
hast  bound  thyself  to  him  by  a  baptismal  covenant, 
and  renounced  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil.  This 
thou  hast  confirmed  by  the  profession  of  Christianity, 
and  renewed  it  at  Sacraments,  and  in  times  of  afflic- 
tion ;  and  wilt  thou  promise  and  vow,  and  never 
perform  and  turn  to  God? 

Lay  all  these  together  now,  and  see  w^hat  should  be 
the  issue.  The  holy  vScriptures  call  upon  thee  to  turn ; 
the  ministers  of  Christ  call  upon  thee  to  turn  ;  the- 
Spirit  cries.  Turn:  thy  conscience  cries,  Turn;  the 
godly,  by  persuasions  and  examples  cry,  Turn;  the 
whole  world,  and  all  the  creatures  therein  that  are 
presented  to  thy  consideration,  cry,  Turn ;  the  patient 
forbearance  of  God  cries,  Turn ;  all  the  mercies  which 
thou  receives t  cry,  Turn ;  the  rod  of  God's  chastise- 
ment cries,  Turn  ;  thy  reason  and  the  frame  of  thy 
nature  bespeaks  thy  turning;  and  so  do  all  thy  pro- 
mises to  God :  and  yet  art  thou  not  resolved  to  turn  ? 

IIL  Moreover,  poor  hard-hearted  sinner,  didst  thou 
ever  consider  upon  what  terms  thou  standest  all  this 
while  with  Him  that  calleth  on  thee  to  turn  ?  Thou  art 
his  own,  and  owest  him  thyself,  and  all  thou  hast ;  and 
may  he  not  command  his  own  ?  Thou  art  his  absolute 
servant,  and  shouldst  serve  no  other  master.  Thou 
standest  at  his  mercy,  and  thy  life  is  in  his  hand,  and 
he  is  resolved  to  save  thee  upon  no  other  terms ;  thou 
hast  many  malicious  spiritual  enemies,  that  would  be 
glad  if  God  would  but  forsake  thee,  and  let  them  alone 


THE   UNCONVEHTED.  95 

with  thee,  and  leave  thee  to  their  will ;  how  quickly 
would  they  deal  with  thee  in  another  manner !  and 
thou  canst  not  be  delivered  from  them  but  by  turning 
unto  God.  Thou  art  fallen  under  his  wrath  by  thy  sin 
already;  and  thou  knowest  not  how  long  his  patience 
will  yet  wait.  Perhaps  this  is  the  last  year,  perhaps 
the  last  day.  His  sword  is  even  at  thy  heart,  while  the 
word  is  in  thine  ear ;  and  if  thou  turn  not,  thou  art  a 
dead  and  undone  man.  Were  thy  eyes  but  open  to 
see  where  thou  standest,  even  upon  the  brink  of  hell, 
and  to  see  how  many  thousands  are  there  already  that 
did  not  turn,  thou  wouldst  see  that  it  is  time  to  look 
about  thee. 

Well,  sirs,  look  inwards  now  and  tell  me  how  your 
hearts  are  affected  with  those  offers  of  the  Lord.  You 
hear  what  is  his  mind:  he  delighteth  not  in  your 
death ;  he  calls  to  you.  Turn,  turn  :  it  is  e^  fearful  sign 
if  all  this  move  thee  not,  or  if  it  do  but  half  move  thee ; 
and  much  more  if  it  make  ihee  more  careless  in  thy 
misery,  because  thou  hearest  of  the  mercifulness  of 
God.  The  working  of  the  medicine  will  partly  tell  us 
whether  there  be  any  hope  of  the  cure.  O  what  glad 
tidings  would  it  be  to  those  that  are  now  in  hell,  if  they 
had  but  such  a  message  from  God !  What  a  joyful 
word  would  it  be  to  hear  this,  Turn  and  live!  Yea, 
what  a  welcome  word  would  it  be  to  thyself,  when 
thou  hast  felt  that  wrath  of  God  but  an  hour  !  Or,  if 
afler  a  thousand  or  ten  thousand  years'  torment,  thou 
couldst  but  hear  such  a  word  from  God,  Turn  and 
live  ;  and  yet  wilt  thou  neglect  it,  and  suffer  us  to  re- 
turn without  our  errand  ? 

Behold,  sinners,  we  are  sent  here  as  the  messengers 
of  the  Lord,  to  set  before  you  life  and  death.  What 
say  you?  which  of  them  will  you  choose?  Christ 
standeth,  as  it  were,  by  thee,  with  heaven  in  the  one 
hand,  and  hell  in  the  other,  and  offereth  thee  thy 
choice.  Which  wilt  thou  choose  ?  The  voice  of  the 
Lord  maketh  the  rocks  to  tremble.  Psalm  xxix.  And 
is  it  nothing  to  hear  him  threaten  thee,  if  thou  will  not 
turn  ?  Dost  thou  not  understand  and  feel  this  voice, 
*  Turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?"  Why  ?  It  is  the 


96  A  CALL  TO 

voice  of  love,  of  infinite  love,  of  thy  best  and  kindest 
friend,  as  thou  mightest  easily  perceive  by  the  motion  ; 
and  yet  canst  thou  neglect  it  ?  It  is  the  voice  of  pity 
and  compassion.  The  Lord  seeth  whither  thou  art 
going,  better  than  thou  dost,  which  makes  him  call 
after  thee,  Turn,  turn.  He  seeth  what  will  become  of 
thee,  if  thou  turn  not.  He  thinketh  with  himself,  '  Ah  ! 
this  poor  sinner  will  cast  himself  into  endless  torments, 
if  he  do  not  turn.  I  must  in  justice  deal  with  him  ac- 
cording to  my  righteous  law.'  And  therefore  he  call- 
eth  after  thee.  Turn,  turn.  O  sinner!  if  thou  didst 
but  know  the  tliousandth  part  as  well  as  God  doth,  the 
danger  that  is  near  you,  and  the  misery  that  you  are 
running  into,  we  should  have  no  more  need  to  call  after 
you  to  turn. 

Moreover,  this  voice  that  calleth  to  thee,  is  the  same 
that  hath  prevailed  with  thousands  already,  and  called 
all  to  heaven  that  are  now  there ;  and  they  would  not 
now  for  a  thousand  worlds  that  they  had  made  light  of 
it,  and  not  turned  to  God.  Now,  what  are  they  pos- 
sessing that  turned  at  God's  call?  Now  they  perceive 
that  it  was  indeed  the  voice  of  love,  that  meant  them 
no  more  harm  than  their  salvation ;  and  if  thou  wilt 
obey  the  same  call,  thou  shalt  come  to  the  same  hap- 
piness. There  are  millions  that  must  for  ever  lament 
that  they  turned  not ;  but  there  is  never  a  soul  in 
heaven  that  is  sorry  that  they  were  converted. 

Well,  sirs,  are  you  yet  resolved,  or  are  you  not  ?  Do 
I  need  to  say  any  more  to  you  ?  What  will  you  do  i 
Will  you  turn  or  not  ?  Speak,  man,  in  thy  heart  to 
God,  though  you  speak  not  out  to  me  ;  speak,  lest  he 
take  thy  silence  for  denial ;  speak  quickly,  lest  he  never 
make  thee  the  like  offer  more;  speak  resolvedly,  and 
not  waveringly,  for  he  will  have  no  indiftferents  to  be 
his  followers.  Say  in  thine  heart  now,  without  any 
more  delay,  even  before  thou  stir  hence,  '  By  the  grace 
of  God  I  am  resolved  presently  to  turn.  And  because 
I  know  my  own  insufficiency,  I  am  resolved  to  wait  on 
God  for  his  grace,  and  to  follow  him  in  his  ways,  and 
forsake  my  former  courses  and  companions,  and  give 
up  myself  to  the  guidance  of  the  I-.ord.' 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  97 

Sirs,  you  are  not  shut  up  in  the  darkness  of  hea- 
thenism, nor  in  the  desperation  of  the  damned.  Life 
is  before  you,  and  you  ma}'  have  it  on  reasonable 
terms,  if  you  will ;  yea,  on  free  cost,  if  you  will  accept 
it.  The  way  of  God  lieth  plain  before  you  ;  the  church 
is  open  to  you.  You  may  have  Christ,  and  pardon, 
and  holiness,  if  you  will.  What  say  you  ?  Will  you 
or  will  you  not  ?  If  you  say  nay,  or  say  nothing,  and 
still  go  on,  God  is  witness,  and  this  congregation  is 
witness,  and  your  own  consciences  are  witnesses,  how 
fair  an  offer  you  had  this  day.  Remember,  you  might 
have  had  Christ,  and  would  not.  Remember,  when 
you  have  lost  it,  that  you  might  have  had  eternal  life, 
as  well  as  others,  and  would  not ;  and  all  because  you 
would  not  turn ! 

But  let  us  come  to  the  next  doctrine,  and  hear  your 
reasons. 

Doctrine  6.  The  Lord  condescendeth  to  reason  the 
case  with  unconverted  sinners,  and  to  ask  them  why 
they  will  die. 

A  strange  disputation  it  is,  both  as  to  the  contro- 
versy, and  as  to  the  disputants. 

L  The  controversy,  or  question  propounded  to  dis- 
pute of  is.  Why  wicked  men  will  destroy  themselves  ? 
or,  Why  they  will  rather  die  than  turn  ;  whether  they 
have  any  sufficient  reason  for  so  doing  ? 

II.  The  disputants  are  God  and  man  :  the  most  holy 
God,  and  wicked  unconverted  sinners. 

Is  it  not  a  strange  thing,  which  God  doth  here  seem 
to  suppose,  that  any  man  should  be  willing  to  die  and  be 
damned  ?  yea,  that  this  should  be  the  case  of  the 
wicked?  that  is,  of  the  greatest  part  of  the  world.  But 
you  will  say,  '  This  cannot  be  ;  for  nature  desireth  the 
preservation  and  felicity  of  itself;  and  the  wicked  are 
more  selfish  than  others,  and  not  less ;  and  therefore 
how  can  any  man  be  willing  to  be  damned?' 

To  which  I  answer : — 1.  It  is  a  certain  truth  that  no 
man  can  be  willing  of  any  evil,  as  evil,  but  only  as  it 
hath  some  appearance  of  good  ;  much  less  can  any 

9 


98  A    CALL    TO 

man  be  willing  to  be  eternally  tormented.  Misery,  as 
such,  is  desired  by  none.  2.  But  yet,  for  all  that,  it  is 
most  true  which  God  here  teacheth  us,  that  the  cause 
wliy  the  wicked  die  is,  because  they  will  die.  And  this 
is  true  in  several  respects. 

1.  Because  they  will  go  the  way  that  leads  to  liell, 
although  they  are  told  by  God  and  man  whither  it  goes 
and  whither  it  ends  ;  and  though  God  hath  so  often 
professed  in  his  word,  that  if  they  hold  on  in  that  way 
lliey  shall  be  condemned ;  and  that  they  shall  not  be 
saved  unless  they  turn,  Isa.  xlviii.  22.  Ivii.  21.  lix.  8. 
"  There  is  no  peace,  saith  the  Lord,  to  the  wicked." 
"  The  way  of  peace  they  know  not ;  there  is  no  judg- 
ment in  their  goings ;  they  have  made  them  crooked 
paths.  Whosoever  goeth  therein,  shall  not  know 
peace."  They  have  the  word  and  the  oath  of  the  liv- 
ing God  for  it,  that  if  they  will  not  turn,  they  shall  not 
enter  into  his  rest :  and  yet,  wicked  they  are,  and 
wicked  they  Avill  be,  let  God  and  man  say  what  they 
will :  fleshly  they  are,  and  fleshly  they  will  be,  world- 
ings  they  are,  and  worldlings  they  will  be,  though  God 
hath  told  them  that  the  love  of  the  world  is  enmity  to 
God,  and  that  if  any  man  love  the  world  (in  that  mea- 
sure) the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in  him.  James  iv. 
4. ;  1  John  ii.  15. ;  so  that  consequently  these  men  are 
willing  to  damned,  though  not  directly ;  they  are  wil- 
ling to  walk  in  the  way  to  hell,  and  love  the  certain 
cause  of  their  torment;  though  they  do  not  will  hell 
itself,  and  do  not  love  the  pain  which  they  must 
endure. 

Is  not  this  the  truth  of  your  case,  sirs  ?  You  would 
not  burn  in  hell,  but  you  will  kindle  the  fire  by  your 
sins,  and  cast  yourselves  into  it ;  you  would  not  be 
tormented  with  devils  for  ever,  but  you  will  do  that 
which  will  certainly  procvire  it  in  spite  of  all  that  can 
be  said  against  it.  It  is  just  as  if  you  would  say,  '  I 
will  drink  this  ratsbane,  or  other  poison,  but  yet  I  will 
not  die.  I  will  cast  myself  headlong  ir-om  the  top  of  a 
steeple,  but  yet  I  will  not  kill  myself.  I  will  thrust  this 
knife  into  my  heart,  but  yet  I  will  not  take  away 
my  life.    I  will  put  this  fire  into  the  thatch  of  my 


THE    UNCONVERTED  99 

house,  but  yet  I  will  not  burn  it.'  Just  so  it  is  with 
wicked  men  ;  they  will  be  wicked,  and  they  will  live 
after  the  flesh  and  the  world,  and  yet  they  would  not 
be  damned.  But  do  you  not  know  that  the  means  lead 
to  the  end?  and  that  God  hath,  by  his  rio-hteous  law, 
concluded  that  ye  must  repent  or  perish  ?  He  th.at 
will  take  poison,  may  as  well  say  plainly,  I  will  kill  my- 
self, for  it  will  prove  no  better  in  the  end  ;  though  per- 
haps he  loved  it  for  the  sweetness  of  the  sugar  that 
was  mixed  with  it ;  and  would  not  be  persuaded  that 
It  was  poison,  but  that  he  might  take  it  and  do  well 
enough ;  but  it  is  not  his  conceits  and  confidence  that 
will  save  his  life.  So  if  you  will  be  drunkards,  or  for- 
nicators, or  worldlings,  or  live  after  the  flesh,  you  may 
as  well  say  plainly.  We  will  be  damned  ;  for  so  yob 
shall  be  unless  you  turn.  Would  you  not  rebuke  the  folly 
of  a  thief  or  murderer,  that  would  say  I  wil"  steal  and  kill, 
but  I  will  not  be  hanged,  when  he  knows  that  if  he 
does  the  one,  the  judge  in  justice  will  see  that  the 
other  be  done?  If  he  say  I  will  steal  and  murder,  he 
may  as  well  say  plainly,  I  will  be  hanged  ;  and  if  you 
will  go  on  in  a  carnal  life,  you  may  as  well  say  plainly, 
We  will  go  to  hell. 

2.  Moreover,  the  wicked  will  not  use  those  means 
without  which  there  is  no  hope  of  their  salvation. 
He  that  will  not  eat,  may  as  well  say  plainly,  he  will 
not  live,  unless  he  can  tell  how  to  live  without  meat. 
He  that  will  not  go  his  journey,  may  as  well  say 
plainly  he  will  not  come  to  the  end.  He  that  falls  into 
the  water,  and  will  not  come  out,  nor  suffer  another  to 
help  him  out,  may  as  well  say  plainly,  he  will  be 
di"ovvned.  So  if  you  be  carnal  and  ungodly,  and  will 
not  be  converted,  nor  use  the  means  by  which  you 
should  be  converted,  but  think  it  more  ado  than  needs, 
you  may  as  well  say  plainly  you  will  be  damned  ;  for 
if  you  have  found  out  a  way  to  be  saved  without  con- 
version, you  have  done  that  which  was  never  done 
before. 

3.  Yea,  this  is  not  all ;  but  the  wicked  are  unwilling 
even  to  partake  of  salvation  itself;  though  thev  may 
desire  somewhat  which  they  call  by  the  name  of  hea- 


100  A  CALL    TO 

veil,  yet  heaven  itself,  considered  in  the  tme  nature  of 
the  felicity,  they  desire  not;  yea,  their  hearts  are  quite 
against  it.  Heaven  is  a  state  of  perfect  holiness,  and 
of  continual  love  and  praise  to  God,  and  the  wicked 
have  no  heart  to  this.  The  imperfect  love  and  praise 
and  holiness  which  is  here  to  he  attained,  they  have  no 
mind  of;  much  less  of  that  which  is  so  much  greater. 
The  joys  of  heaven  are  of  so  pure  and  spiritual  a  nature, 
that  the  heart  of  the  wicked  cannot  truly  desire  them. 

So  that  hy  this  time  you  may  see  on  what  ground 
it  is  that  God  supposeth  that  the  wicked  are  willing  of 
their  own  destruction.  They  will  not  turn,  though 
they  must  turn  or  die :  they  will  rather  venture  on  cer- 
tain misery,  than  be  converted ;  and  then  to  quiet  them- 
selves in  their  sins,  they  will  make  themselves  believe 
that  they  shall  nevertheless  escape. 

II.  And  as  this  controversy  is  matter  of  wonder,  thai 
ever  men  should  be  such  enemies  to  themselves  as 
wilfully  to  cast  away  their  souls,  so  are  the  disputants 
too.  That  God  should  stoop  so  low  as  thus  to  plead 
the  case  with  man  ;  and  that  man  should  be  so  strange- 
ly bUnd  and  obstinate  as  to  need  all  this  in  so  plain  a 
case  ;  yea,  and  to  resist  all  this,  when  their  own  salva- 
tion lieth  upon  the  issue. 

No  wonder  that  they  will  not  hear  us  that  are  men, 
when  they  will  not  hear  the  Lord  himself.  As  God 
saith,  Ezek.  iii.  7,  when  he  sent  the  prophet  to  the 
Israelites.  "  The  house  of  Israel  will  not  hearken  unto 
thee  ;  for  they  will  not  hearken  unto  me ;  for  all  the 
house  of  Israel  are  impudent  and  hard-hearted."  No 
wonder  if  they  can  plead  against  a  minister,  or  a  godly 
neighbour,  when  they  will  plead  against  the  Lord  him- 
self, even  against  the  plainest  passages  of  his  word,  and 
think  that  they  have  reason  on  their  side.  When  they 
weary  the  Lord  with  their  words,  they  say,  "  wherein 
have  we  wearied  him?"  Mai.  ii.  17.  The  priests  that 
despised  his  name  durst  ask,  "  Wherein  have  we  de- 
spised thy  name  r"  And  "  when  they  polluted  his  altar, 
and  made  the  table  of  the  Lord  contemptible,"  they 
durst  say,  "  Wherein  have  we  polluted  thee  ?"  Mai.  i. 
6,  7.    But  "  Wo  unto  him  (saith  the  Lord)  that  striv- 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  101 

eth  with  his  Maker  !  Let  the  potsherds  strive  with  the 
potsherds  of  the  earth :  shall  the  clay  say  to  him  that 
fashioneth  it,  What  makest  thou  ?" 

Quest. — But  why  is  it  that  God  will  reason  the  case 
with  man  ? 

Answ.  1. — Because  that  man  bemg  a  reasonable  crea- 
ture, is  accordingly  to  be  dealt  with,  and  by  reason  to 
be  persuaded  and  overcome;  God  hath  therefore  en- 
dowed them  with  reason,  that  they  might  use  it  for 
him.  One  would  think  a  reasonable  creature  should 
not  go  against  the  clearest,  the  greatest  reason  in  the 
world,  when  it  is  set  before  him. 

2.  At  least,  men  shall  see  that  God  did  require 
nothing  of  them  that  was  unreasonable  :  but  both  in 
what  he  commandeth  them,  and  what  he  forbids  them, 
he  hath  all  the  right  reason  in  the  world  on  his  side ;  and 
they  have  good  reason  to  obey  him, — ^but  none  to  dis- 
obey. And  thus  even  the  damned  shall  be  forced  to 
justify  God,  and  confess  that  it  was  only  reasonable 
that  they  should  have  turned  to  him ;  and  they  shall 
be  forced  to  condemn  themselves,  and  confess  that  they 
had  little  reason  to  cast  away  themselves  bv the  neglect- 
ing of  his  grace  jn  the  day  of  their  visitation. 

Use. — Look  up  your  best  and  strongest  reasons, 
sinners,  if  you  will  make  good  your  way.  You  see 
now  with  Vhom  you  have  to  deal.  What  sayest 
thou,  unconverted  sensual  sinner?  Barest  thou  venture 
upon  a  dispute  with  God  ?  Art  thou  able  to  confute 
him  ?  Art  thou  ready  to  enter  the  lists  ?  God  asketh 
thee,  W^hy  wilt  thou  die  ?  Art  thou  furnished  with  a 
sufficient  answer  ?  Wilt  thou  undertake  to  prove  that 
God  is  mistaken,  and  that  thou  art  in  the  right?  O 
what  an  undertaking  is  that!  Why,  either  he  or  you 
are  mistaken,  when  he  is  for  your  conversion,  and  you 
are  against  it ;  he  calls  upon  you  to  turn,  and  you  will 
not ;  he  bids  you  to  do  it  presently,  even  to-day,  while 
it  is  called  to-day,  and  you  delay,  and  think  it  time 
enough  hereafter.'  He  saith  it  must  be  a  total  change, 
and  you  must  be  holy  and  new  creatures,  and  born 
ao-airi :  and  you  think  that  less  may  serve  the  turn, 
°  9* 


102  A  CALL  TO 

and  that  it  is  enoufrh  to  patch  up  the  old  man,  without 
becoming  new.  Who  is  in  the  right  now  ?  God  or 
you  ?  God  calleth  you  to  turn,  and  to  live  a  holy  life, 
and  you  will  not ; — by  your  disobedient  lives,  it  ap- 
pears you  will  not.  If  you  will,  why  do  you  not?  Why 
have  you  not  done  it  all  this  while  ?  And  why  do  you 
not  fall  upon  it  yet?  Your  wills  have  the  command  ot 
your  lives.  We  may  certainly  conclude  that  you  are 
unwilling  to  turn,  when  you  do  not  turn.  And  why 
will  you  not  ? 

Can  you  give  any  reason  for  it,  that  is  worthy  io  be 
called  a  reason? 

I  that  am  but  a  worm,  your  fellow  creature,  of  a 
shallow  capacity,  dare  challenge  the  wisest  of  you  all 
to  reason  the  case  with  me,  while  I  plead  my  Maker's 
cause  ;  and  I  need  not  be  discouraged  when  I  know  I 
plead  but  the  cause  that  God  pleadeth,  and  contend  for 
him  that  will  have  the  best  at  last.  Had  I  but  these 
two  general  grounds  against  you,  I  am  sure  that  you 
have  no  good  reason  on  your  side. 

I  am  sure  it  can  be  no  good  reason  which  is  against 
the  God  of  truth  and  reason.  It  cannot  be  light  that 
is  contrary  to  the  sun.  There  is  no  knowledge  in 
any  creature  but  what  it  had  from  God  ;  and  there- 
fore none  can  be  Aviser  than  God.  It  were  fatal  pre- 
sumption for  the  highest  angel  to  compare  with  his 
Creator !  What  is  it  then  for  a  lump  of  earth,  an  ignor- 
ant sot,  that  knoweth  not  himself  nor  his  own  soul, 
that  knoweth  but  little  of  the  things  which  he  seeth, 
yea,  that  is  more  ignorant  than  many  of  his  neigh- 
bours, to  set  himself  against  the  wisdom  of  the  Lord  '. 
It  is  one  of  the  fullest  discoveries  of  the  horrible  wick- 
edness oF  carnal  men,  and  the  stark-madness  of  such 
as  sin,  that  so  silly  a  mole  dare  contradict  his  Maker, 
and  call  in  question  the  word  of  God  :  yea,  that  those 
people  in  our  parishes,  that  are  so  ignorant  that  they 
cannot  give  us  a  reasonable  answer  concerning  the 
very  principles  of  rehgion,  are  yet  so  wise  in  their  own 
conceit,  that  they  dare  question  the  plainest  truths  of 
God,  yea,  contradict  them  and  cavil  against  them, 
when  they  can  scarcely  speak  sense,  and  will  believe 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  103 

them  no  further  than  agreeth  with  their  foolish  wis- 
dom ! 

And  as  I  know  that  God  must  needs  he  in  the  right, 
so  I  know  the  cause  is  so  palpable  and  gross  which  he 
pleadeth  against,  that  no  man  can  have  reason  for  it. 
Is  it  possible  that  a  man  can  have  any  reason  to  break 
his  Maker's  laws,  and  reason  to  dishonour  the  Lord  of 
glory,  and  reason  to  abuse  the  Lord  that  bought  him? 
Is  it  possible  that  a  man  can  have  any  good  reason  to 
damn  his  own  immortal  soul  ?  Mark  the  Lord's  ques- 
tion, turn  ye,  turn  ye,  why  will  ye  die?  Is  eternal  death 
a  thing  to  be  desired?  Are  you  in  love  with  hell? 
What  reason  have  you  wilfully  to  perish?  If  you  think 
you  have  some  reason  to  sin,  should  you  not  remember 
that  death  is  the  wages  of  sin  ;  Rom.  vi.  23.  and  think 
whether  you  have  any  reason  to  undo  yourselves,  body 
and  soul  forever?  You  should  not  only  ask  whether 
you  love  the  adder,  but  whether  you  love  the  sting? 
It  is  such  a  thing  for  a  man  to  cast  away  his  everlast- 
ing happiness,  and  to  sin  against  God,  that  no  good 
reason  can  be  given  for  it ;  but  the  more  any  one 
pleads  for  it,  the  more  mad  he  showeth  himself  to  be. 
Had  you  a  lordship,  or  a  kingdom  offered  you  for  every 
sin  that  you  commit,  it  were  not  reason  but  madness 
to  accept  it.  Could  you  by  every  sin  obtain  the  highest 
thing  on  earth  that  flesh  desireth,  it  were  of  no  con- 
siderable value  to  persuade  you  in  reason  to  commit  it. 
If  it  were  to  please  your  greatest  or  dearest  friends, 
or  to  obey  the  greatest  prince  on  earth,  or  to  save 
your  lives,  or  to  escape  the  greatest  earthly  misery ; 
all  these  are  of  no  consideration  to  draw  a  man  in 
reason  to  the  committing  of  one  sin.  If  it  were  a 
right  hand  or  a  right  eye  that  would  hinder  your  sal- 
vation, it  is  the  most  gainful  way  to  cast  it  away, 
rather  than  to  go  to  hell  to  save  it ;  for  there  is  no 
saving  a  part  when  you  lose  the  whole.  So  exceed- 
ingly great  are  the  matters  of  eternity,  that  nothing  in 
this  world  deserveth  once  to  be  named  in  comparison 
with  them  ;  nor  can  any  earthly  thing,  though  it  were 
life,  or  crowns,  or  kingdoms,  be  a  reasonable  excuse 
lor  the  neglect  of  matters  of  such  high  and  everlasting 


104  A    CALL    TO 

consequence.  A  man  can  have  no  reason  to  cross  his 
ultimate  end.  Heaven  is  such  a  thing,  that  if  you  lose 
it,  nothing  can  supply  the  want  or  make  up  the  loss ; 
and  hell  is  such  a  thing,  that  if  you  suffer  it,  nothing 
can  remove  your  misery,  or  give  you  ease  and  comfort ; 
and  therefore  nothing  can  be  a  valuable  consideration 
to  excuse  you  for  neglecting  your  own  salvation  ;  for, 
saith  our  Saviour,  "  What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he 
shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  lose  his  own  soul?" 
Mark  viii.  36. 

O  sirs,  that  you  did  but  know  what  matters  they  are 
that  we  are  now  speaking  to  you  of!  you  would  have 
other  kind  of  thoughts  of  these  things.     If  the  devil 
could  come  to  them,  the  saints  in  heaven,  that  live  in 
the  sight  and  love  of  God,  and  should  offer  them  sen 
sual  pleasures,  or  merry  company,  or  sports  to  entice 
them  away  from  God  and  glory,  I  pray  you  tell  me, 
how  do  you  think  they  would  entertain  the  motion .'' 
Nay,  or  if  he  should  offer  them  to  be  kings  on  the 
earth,  do  you  think  this  would  entice  them  down  from 
heaven  ?     O  with  what  hatred  and  holy  scorn  would 
they  reject  the  motion  !     And  why  should  not  you  do 
so,  that  have  heaven  opened  to  your  faith,  if  you  had 
but  faith  to  see  it?     There  is  never  a  soul  in  hell,  but 
knows,  by  this  time,  that  it  was  a  mad  exchange  to  let 
go  heaven  for  fleshly  pleasure ;  and  that  it  is  not  a 
little  mirth  or  pleasure,  or  worldly  riches,  or  honour, 
or  the  good  will  or  word  of  men,  that  will  quench  hell 
fire,  or  make  him  a  gainer  that  loseth  his  soul.     O  if 
you  had  heard  what  I  believe,  if  you  had  seen  what  I 
believe,  and  that  on  the  credit  of  the  word  of  God, 
you   would  say  there  can  be  no  reason  to  warrant  a 
man  to  destroy  his  soul ;  you  durst  not  sleep  quietly 
another  night,  before  you  had  resolved  to  turn  and  live. 
If  you  see  a  man  put  his  hand  into  the  fire  till  it 
burn  off,  you  will  marvel  at  it;  but  this  is  a  thing  that 
a  man  may  have  a  reason  for,  as  Bishop  Cranmer  had, 
when  he  burnt  off  his  hand  lor  subscribing  to  Popery. 
If  you  see  a  man  cut  off  a  leg,  or  an  arm,  it  is  a  sad 
sight ;  but  this  is  a  thing,  that  a  man  may  have  a  good 
reason  for,  as  many  a  man  hath  it  done  to  save  his  life. 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  lOS 

If  you  see  a  man  give  his  body  to  be  tormented  with 
scourges  and  racks,  or  to  be  burned  to  ashes,  and  refuse 
deliverance  when  it  is  ofiered,  this  is  a  hard  case  to 
flesh  and  blood ;  but  this  a  man  may  have  good  reason 
for,  as  you  may  see  in  Heb.  xi.  33 — 36,  and  as  many 
a  hundred  martyrs  have  done.  But  for  a  man  to  for- 
sake the  Lord  that  made  him,  and  to  run  into  the  fire 
of  hell,  when  he  is  told  of  it,  and  entreated  to  turn  that 
he  may  be  saved, — this  is  a  thing  that  can  have  no  rea- 
son in  the  world  to  justify  or  excuse  it.  For  heaven 
will  pay  for  the  loss  of  any  thing  that  we  can  lose  to 
obtain  it,  or  for  any  labour  which  we  bestow  for  it ; 
but  nothing  can  pay  for  the  loss  of  heaven. 

I  beseech  you  now  let  this  word  come  nearer  to  your 
heart.  As  you  are  convinced  that  you  have  no  reason 
to  destroy  yourselves,  so  tell  me  what  reason  have  you 
to  refuse  to  turn  and  live  to  God  ?  What  reason  has 
the  veriest  worlding,  or  drunkard,  or  ignorant  careless 
sinner  of  you  all,  why  he  should  not  be  as  holy  as  any 
you  know,  and  be  as  careful  for  his  soul  as  any  other  ? 
Will  not  hell  be  as  intolerable  to  you  as  to  others  ? 
Should  not  your  own  souls  be  as  dear  to  you  as  theirs 
to  them  ?  Hath  not  God  as  much  authority  over  you  ? 
Why  then  will  you  not  become  a  sanctifiied  people,  as 
well  as  they  ? 

O  sirs,  when  God  bringeth  the  matter  down  to  the 
very  principles  of  nature,  and  shows  that  you  have  no 
more  reason  to  be  ungodly  ^han  you  have  to  damn 
your  own  souls, — if  yet  you  will  not  understand  and 
turn,  it  seems  a  desperate  case  that  you  are  in. 

And  now,  either  you  have  good  reason  for  what  you 
do,  or  you  have  not :  if  not,  will  you  go  against  reason 
itself?  Will  you  do  that  which  you  have  no  reason  for  ? 
But  if  you  think  you  have,  produce  it,  and  make  the 
best  of  your  matter.  Reason  the  case  a  little  with  me, 
your  fellow-creature,  which  is  far  easier  than  to  reason 
the  ease  with  God ;  tell  me,  man,  here  before  the  Lord, 
as  if  thou  wert  to  die  this  hour,  why  shouldst  thou  not 
resolve  to  turn  this  day;  before  thou  stir  from  the  place 
thou  standest  in,  what  reason  hast  thou  to  deny  or  to 
delay  ?  Hast  thou  any  reason  that  satisfieth  thine  own 


106  A   CALL   TO 

conscience  for  ii,  or  any  that  thou  darest  own  and  plead 
at  the  bar  of  God?  If  thou  hast,  let  us  hear  them, 
brmg  them  forth,  and  make  them  good.  But,  alas ! 
what  poor  stuff,  what  nonsense,  instead  of  reasons,  do 
we  daily  hear  from  ungodly  men !  But  for  their  neces- 
sity I  should  be  ashamed  to  name  them. 

Object.  1.  One  saith,  if  none  shall  be  saved  but  such 
converted  and  sanctified  ones  as  you  talk  of,  then 
heaven  would  be  but  empty ;  then  God  help  a  great 
many. 

Answ.  Why,  it  seems  you  think  that  God  doth  not 
know,  or  else  that  he  is  not  to  be  believed  !  Measure 
not  all  by  yourselves :  God  hath  thousands  and  millions 
of  his  sanctified  ones ;  but  yet  they  are  few  in  com- 
parison of  the  world,  as  Christ  himself  hath  told  us, 
Matt.  vii.  13,  14.  Luke  xi.  32.  It  better  beseems  you 
to  make  that  use  of  this  truth  which  Christ  teacheth 
you  :  '  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gate  ;  for  strait 
is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the  way, -^that  leadeth  unto 
life,  and  few  there  be  that  find  it ;  but  wide  is  the  gate 
and  broad  is  the  way  which  leadeth  to  destruction, 
and  many  there  be  that  go  in  thereat,'  Luke  xiii. 
22 — 24.  Fear  not,  little  flock  (saith  Christ  to  his  sanc- 
tified ones)  for  it  is  your  Father's  good  pleasure  to 
give  you  the  kingdom.     Luke  xii.  32. 

Object.  2.  I  am  sure,  if  such  as  I  go  to  hell,  we  shall 
have  store  of  company. 

Answ.  And  will  that  be  any  ease  or  comfort  to  you .'' 
Or  do  you  think  you  may  not  have  company  enough  in 
heaven?  Will  you  be  undone  for  company,  or  will 
you  not  believe  that  God  will  execute  his  threat.enings, 
because  there  be  so  many  that  are  guilty  ?  These  are 
all  unreasonable  conceits. 

Object.  3.  But  all  men  are  sinners,  even  the  best  of 
you  all. 

Answ.  But  all  are  not  unconverted  sinners.  The 
godly  live  not  in  gross  sins  :  and  their  very  infirmities 
are  their  grief  and  burden,  which  they  daily  long,  and 
pray,  and  strive  to  be  rid  of.  Sin  hath  not  dominion 
over  them. 

Object.  4.  I  do  not  see  that  professors  are  any  better 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  107 

than  other  men  ;  they  will  overreach  and  oppress,  and 
are  as  covetous  as  any. 

Answ.  Whatever  hypocrites  are,  it  is  not  so  with 
those  that  are  sanctified.  God  hath  thousands,  and 
tens  of  thousands  that  are  otherwise,  though  the  mali- 
cious world  doth  accuse  them  of  what  they  can  never 
prove,  and  of  that  which  never  entered  into  their 
hearts;  and  commonly  they  charge  them  with  heart- 
sins,  which  none  can  see  but  God,  because  they  can 
charge  them  with  no  such  wickedness  in  their  lives, 
as  they  are  guilty  of  themselves. 

Object.  5.  But  I  am  no  whoremonger,  nor  drunkard, 
nor  oppressor ;  and  therefore  why  should  you  call  upon 
me  to  be  converted  ? 

Jinsw.  As  if  you  were  not  horn  after  the  flesh,  and 
had  not  lived  after  the  flesh,  as  well  as  others  !  Is  it  not 
as  great  a  sin  as  any  of  these,  for  a  man  to  have  an 
earthly  mind,  and  to  love  the  world  above  God,  and  to 
have  an  unbelieving,  unhumbled  heart?  Nay,  let  me 
tell  you  more,  that  many  persons  that  avoid  disgrace- 
ful sins,  are  as  fast  glued  to  the  world,  and  as  much 
slaves  to  the  flesh,  and  as  strange  to  God,  and  averse 
to  heaven  in  their  more  civil  course,  as  others  are  in 
their  more  shameful,  notorious  sins. 

Object.  6.  But  I  mean  nobody  any  harm,  nor  do  any 
harm ;  and  why  then  should  God  condemn  me  ? 

Answ.  Is  it  no  harm  to  neglect  the  Lord  that  made 
thee,  and  the  work  for  which  thou  camest  into  the 
world,  and  to  prefer  the  creature  before  the  Creator, 
and  to  neglect  grace  that  is  daily  offered  thee  ?  It  is 
the  depth  of  thy  sinfulness  to  be  so  insensible  of  it: 
the  dead  feel  not  that  they  are  dead.  If  once  thou 
wert  made  alive,  thou  wouldst  see  more  amiss  in  thy- 
self, and  marvel  at  thyself  for  making  so  light  of  it. 

Object.  7.  I  think  you  would  make  men  mad,  under 
pretence  of  converting  them :  it  is  enough  to  rack  the 
brains  of  simple  people  to  muse  so  much  on  matters  so 
high  for  them. 

Jlnsw.  1.  Can  you  be  more  mad  than  you  are  already? 
or,  at  least,  can  there  be  a  more  dangerous  madness 


103^  A   CALL   TO 

than  to  neglect  your  everlasting  welfare,  and  wilfully 
undo  yourselves? 

2.  A  man  is  never  well  in  his  wits  till  he  be  convert- 
ed :  he  never  knows  God,  nor  knows  sin,  nor  knows 
Christ,  nor  knows  the  world,  nor  himself,  nor  what  his 
business  is  on  earth,  so  as  to  set  himself  about  it,  till 
he  be  converted.  The  Scripture  saith,  that  the  wicked 
are  unreasonable  men,  2  Thess.  iii.  2,  and  that  the 
wisdom  of  the  world  is  foolishness  with  God,  1  Cor.  i. 
20.  and  Luke  xv.  17.  It  is  said  of  the  prodigal,  that 
when  he  came  to  himself,  he  resolved  to  return.  It  is 
a  wise  world  when  men  will  disobey  God,  and  run  to 
hell,  for  fear  of  being  out  of  their  wits. 

3.  What  is  there  in  the  work  that  Christ  calls  you 
to,  th^t  should  drive  a  man  out  of  his  wits  ?  Is  it  the 
loving  God,  and  calling  upon  him,  and  comfortably 
thinkinor  of  the  glory  to  come,  and  the  forsaking  of  our 
sins,  and  loving  one  another,  and  delighting  ourselves 
in  the  service  of  God  ?  Are  these  such  things  as  should 
make  men  mad  ? 

4.  And  whereas  you  say  that  these  matters  are  too 
high  for  us  ;  you  accuse  God  himself,  for  making  this 
our  work,  and  giving  us  his  word,  and  commanding  all 
that  will  be  blessed  to  meditate  on  it  day  and  night. — 
Are  the  matters  which  we  are  made  for,  and  which  we 
live  for,  too  high  for  us  to  meddle  with?  This  is 
plainly  to  unman  us,  and  to  make  beasts  of  us,  as  if  we 
were  like  them  that  must  meddle  with  no  higher  mat- 
ters than  what  belongs  to  flesh  and  earth.  If  heaven 
be  too  high  for  you  to  think  on  and  provide  for,  it  will 
be  too  high  for  you  ever  to  possess. 

5.  If  God  should  sometimes  suffer  any  weakheaded 
persons  to  be  distracted  by  thinking  of  eternal  things, 
this  is  because  they  misunderstand  them,  and  run  with- 
out a  guide  :  and  of  the  two  I  had  rather  be  in  the  case 
of  such  a  one,  than  of  the  mad  unconverted  world, 
that  take  their  distraction  to  be  their  wisdom. 

Object.  8.  I  do  not  think  that  God  cares  so  much 
what  men  think,  or  speak,  or  do,  as  to  make  so  great 
a  matter  of  it. 

Answ.  It  seems  then  you  take  the  word  of  God  to 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  109 

be  false :  then  what  will  you  believe  ?  But  your  own 
reason  might  teach  you  better,  if  you  believe  not  the 
scriptures  ;  for  you  see  God  sets  not  so  light  by  us  but 
that  he  vouchsafed  to  make  us,  and  still  preserveth  us, 
and  daily  upholdeth  us,  and  provideth  for  us;  and  will 
any  wise  man.  make  a  curious  frame  for  nothing?  Will 
you  make  or  buy  a  clock  or  watch,  and  daily  look  at 
it,  and  not  care  whether  it  go  true  or  false  ?  Surely,  if 
you  believe  not  a  particular  eye  of  Providence  observ- 
ing your  hearts  and  lives,  you  cannot  believe  or  ex- 
pect any  particular  Providence  to  observe  your  wants 
and  troubles,  or  to  relieve  you ;  and  if  God  had  so 
little  care  for  you  as  you  imagine,  you  'w^ould  never 
have  lived  till  now  ;  a  hundred  diseases  would  have 
striven  which  should  first  destroy  you  ;  yea,  the  devils 
would  have  haunted  you,  and  fetched  you  away  alive, 
as  the  great  fishes  devour  the  less,  and  as  ravenous 
beasts  and  birds  devour  others.  You  cannot  think  that 
God  made  man  for  no  end  or  use  ;  and  if  he  made  him 
for  any,  it  was  surely  for  himself;  and  can  you  think 
he  cares  not  whether  his  end  be  accomplished,  and 
whether  we  do  the  work  that  we  are  made  for  ? 

Yea,  by  this  atheistical  objection,  you  make  God  to 
have  made  and  upheld  all  the  world  in  vain  :  for  what 
are  all  other  lower  creatures  for,  but  for  man  ?  What ! 
doth  the  earth  but  bear  us,  and  nourish  us,  and  the 
beasts  do  serve  us  with  their  labours  and  lives,  and 
so  of  the  rest?  And  hath  God  made  so  glorious  a 
habitation,  and  set  man  to  dwell  in  it,  and  made  all 
his  servants ;  and  now  doth  he  look  for  nothing  at  his 
hands,  nor  care  how  he  thinks,  or  speaks,  or  lives  ? 
This  is  most  unreasonable. 

Object.  9.  It  was  a  better  world  when  men  did  not 
make  so  much  ado  in  religion. 

Answ.  1.  It  hath  ever  been  the  custom  to  praise  the 
times  past;  that  world  that  you  speak  of,  was  wont 
to  say  it  was  a  better  world  in  their  forefathers'  days ; 
and  so  did  they  of  their  forefathers.'  This  is  but  an 
old  custom,  because  we  all  feel  the  evil  of  our  own 
times,  but  we  see  not  that  which  was  before  us. 

2.  Perhaps  you  speak  as  you  think.  Worldlings 
10 


no  A   CALL   TO 

think  the  world  is  at  the  best  when  it  is  agreeable 
to  their  minds,  and  when  they  have  most  mirth,  and 
worldly  pleasure  ;  and  I  doubt  not  but  the  devil,  as 
well  as  you,  would  say,  that  then  it  was  a  better 
world ;  for  then  he  had  more  service  and  less  dis- 
turbance. But  the  world  is  at  the  best  when  God  is 
most  loved,  regarded,  and  obeyed  ;  and  how  else  will 
you  know  when  the  world  is  good  or  bad,  but  by  this  ? 

Object.  10.  There  are  so  many  ways  and  rehgions, 
that  we  know  not  which  to  be  of,  and  therefore  we 
will  be  even  as  we  are. 

Answ.  Because  there  are  many,  will  you  be  of  that 
way  that  you  may  be  sure  is  wrong?  None  are  fur- 
ther out  of  the  way  than  worldly,  fleshly,  unconverted 
sinners;  for  they  do  not  only  err  in  this  or  that  opi- 
nion, as  many  sects  do,  but  in  the  very  scope  and 
drift  of  their  lives.  If  you  were  going  a  journey  that 
your  life  lay  on,  would  you  stop  or  turn  again,  because 
you  met  with  some  cross-ways,  or  because  you  saw 
some  travellers  go  the  horse-way,  and  some  the  foot- 
way, and  some  perhaps  break  over  the  hedge,  yea, 
and  some  miss  the  way  ?  Or  would  you  not  rather 
be  the  more  careful  to  inquire  the  way?  If  you  have 
some  servants  that  know  not  how  to  do  your  work 
right,  and  some  that  are  unfaithful,  would  you  take 
it  well  of  any  of  the  rest  that  would  therefore  be  idle 
and  do  you  no  service,  because  they  see  the  rest  so  bad  ? 

Object.  11.  I  do  not  see  that  it  goes  any  better  with 
those  that  are  so  godly,  than  with  other  men ;  they 
are  as  poor,  and  in  as  much  trouble  as  others. 

Answ.  And  perhaps  in  much  more,  when  God  sees 
it  meet.  They  take  not  earthly  prosperity  for  their 
wages ;  they  have  laid  up  their  treasure  and  hopes  in 
another  world  ;  or  else  they  are  not  Christians  indeed  ; 
the  less  they  have,  the  more  is  behind,  and  they  are 
content  to  wait  till  then. 

Object.  12.  AVhen  you  have  said  all  that  you  can,  I 
am  resolved  to  hope  well,  and  trust  in  God,  and  do 
as  well  as  1  can,  and  not  make  so  much  ado. 

Answ.  1.  Is  that  doing  as  well  as  you  can,  when  you 
will  not  turn  to  God,  but  your  heart  is  against  his  holy 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  HI 

and  diligent  service  ?  It  is  as  well  as  you  will,  indeed, 
but  that  is  your  misery. 

2.  My  desire  is,  that  you  should  hope  and  trust  m 
God.  But  for  what  is  it  that  you  will  hope?  Is  it  to 
be  saved,  if  you  turn  and  be  sanctified  ?  For  this  you 
have  God's  promise,  and  therefore  hope  for  it  and 
spare  not.  But  if  you  hope  to  be  saved  without  con- 
version and  a  holy  life,  this  is  not  to  hope  in  God, 
but  in  Satan,  or  yourselves ;  for  God  hath  given  you 
no  such  promise,  but  told  you  the  contrary ;  but  it  is 
Satan  and  self-love  that  made  you  such  promises,  and 
raised  you  to  such  hopes. 

Well,  if  these,  and  such  as  these,  be  all  you  have  to 
say  against  conversion  and  a  holy  life,  your  all  is  no- 
thing, and  worse  than  nothing ;  and  if  these,  and  such 
as  these,  seem  reasons  sufficient  to  persuade  you  to 
forsake  God,  and  cast  yourselves  into  hell,  the  Lord 
deliver  you  from  such  reasons,  and  from  such  blind 
understandings,  and  from  such  senseless  hardened 
hearts.  Dare  you  stand  to  aver  one  of  these  reasons 
at  the  bar  of  God  ?  Do  you  think  it  will  then  serve 
your  turn  to  say,  '  Lord,  I  did  not  turn,  because  I  had 
so  much  to  do  in  the  world,  or  because  I  did  not  like 
the  Uves  of  some  professors,  or  because  I  saw  men  of 
so  many  minds !'  O  how  easily  will  the  light  of  that 
day  confound  and  shame  such  reasonings  as  these ! 
Had  you  the  world  to  look  after?  Let  the  world 
which  you  served  now  pay  you  your  wages,  and 
save  you  if  it  can.  Had  you  not  a  better  world  to 
look  after  first,  and  were  ye  not  commanded  to  seek 
first  God's  kingdom  and  righteousness,  and  promised 
that  other  things  should  be  added  to  you  ?  Matt.  vi. 
S3.  And  were  ye  not  told,  that  godliness  was  profita- 
ble to  all  things,  having  the  promise  of  this  life,  and 
of  that  which  is  to  come  ?  1  Tim.  iv.  8.  Did  the 
sins  of  professors  hinder  you  ?  You  should  rather 
have  been  the  more  heedful,  and  learned,  by  their 
falls,  to  beware,  and  have  been  the  more  careful,  and 
not  to  be  more  careless.  It  was  the  Scripture,  and 
not  their  lives,  that  was  your  rule.  Did  the  many 
opinions  of  the  world  hinder  you  ?    Why,  the  Scrip- 


112  A    CALL    TO 

ture,  that  was  your  rule,  did  teach  you  but  one  way, 
and  that  was  the  right  way.  If  you  had  followed 
that;  even  in  so  much  as  was  plain  and  easy,  you 
should  never  have  miscarried.  Will  not  such  answers 
as  these  confound  and  silence  you  ?  If  these  will  not, 
God  hath  those  that  will.  When  he  asked  the  man, 
"  Friend,  how  earnest  thou  in  hither,  not  having  on  a 
wedding  garment?"  Matt.  xxii.  12.  that  is,  what 
dost  thou  in  my  Church  among  professed  Christians, 
without  a  holy  heart  and  life, — what  answer  did  he 
make?  Why  the  text,  saith,  "he  was  speechless;" 
he  had  nothing  to  say.  The  clearness  of  the  case, 
and  the  majesty  of  God,  will  then  easily  stop  the 
mouths  of  the  most  confident  of  you,  though  you  will 
not  be  put  down  by  any  thing  we  can  say  to  you 
now,  but  will  make  good  your  cause,  be  it  ever  so 
bad.  I  know  already  that  never  a  reason  that  now 
you  can  give  me  will  do  you  any  good  at  last,  when 
your  case  must  be  opened  before  the  Lord  and  all  the 
world. 

Nay,  I  scarce  think  that  your  own  consciences  are 
well  satisfied  with  your  reasons ;  for  if  they  are,  it 
seems  then  you  have  not  so  much  as  a  purpose  to 
repent.  But  if  you  do  purpose  to  repent,  it  seems 
you  do  not  put  much  confidence  in  your  reasons 
which  you  bring  against  it. 

What  say  you,  unconverted  sinners?  Have  you 
any  good  reasons  to  give  why  you  would  not  turn, 
and  presently  turn  with  all  your  hearts  ?  Or  will 
you  go  to  hell  in  despite  of  reason  itself?  Bethink 
you  what  you  do  in  time,  for  it  will  shortly  be  too 
late  to  bethink  you.  Can  you  find  any  fault  with 
God,  or  his  work,  or  his  wages  ?  Is  he  a  bad  mas- 
ter ?  Is  the  devil,  whom  ye  serve,  a  better  ?  or  is 
the  flesh  a  better  ^  Is  there  any  harm  in  a  holy 
life?  Is  a  life  of  worldliness  and  ungodliness  better? 
Do  you  think  in  your  consciences  that  it  would  do 
you  any  harm  to  be  converted  and  live  a  holy  life  ? 
What  harm  can  it  do  you  ?  Is  it  harm  to  you  to 
have  the  Spirit  of  Christ  within  you,  and  to  have  a 
cleansed  purified    heart  ?     If  it  be  bad   to  be   holy^ 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  113 

why  doth  God  say,  "  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy  ?"  1 
Pet.i.  15,  16.  Lev.  xx.  7.  Is  it  evil  to  he  like  God? 
Is  it  not  said  that  God  made  man  in  his  own  image  ? 
Why,  this  holiness  is  his  image  ;  this  Adam  lost, 
and  this  Christ  by  his  word  and  Spirit  would  restore 
to  you,  as  he  doth  to  all  that  he  will  save.  Why 
you  are  baptized  into  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  why  do 
you  baptize  your  children  into  the  Holy  Ghost,  as 
your  Sanctifier,  if  you  will  not  be  sanctified  by  him, 
but  think  it  a  hurt  to  you  to  be  sanctified  ?  Tell 
me  truly,  as  before  the  Lord,  though  you  are  loth 
to  live  a  holy  life,  had  you  not  rather  die  in  the  case 
of  those  that  do  so,  than  of  others?  If  you  were  to 
die  this  day,  had  you  not  rather  die  in  the  case  of 
a  converted  man  than  of  an  unconverted  ?  of  a  holy 
and  heavenly  man  than  of  a  carnal  earthly  man? 
and  would  you  not  say  as  Balaam,  Numb,  xxiii.  10. 
"  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  and  let  my 
last  end  be  like  his !"  And  why  will  you  not  now 
be  of  the  mind  that  you  will  be  of  then  ?  First  or 
last  you  must  come  to  this,  either  to  be  converted, 
or  to  wish  you  had  been,  when  it  is  too  late. 

But  what  is  it  that  you  are  afraid  of  losing,  if  you 
turn  ?  Is  it  your  friends  ?  You  will  but  change  them ; 
God  will  be  your  friend,  and  Christ  and  the  Spirit 
will  be  your  friend,  and  every  christian  will  be  your 
friend.  You  will  get  one  friend  that  will  stand  you 
in  more  stead  than  all  the  friends  in  the  world  could 
have  done.  The  friends  you  lose  would  have  but  en- 
ticed you  to  hell,  but  could  not  have  delivered  you : 
but  the  friend  you  get  will  save  you  ti-om  hell,  and 
bring  you  to  his  own  eternal  rest. 

Is  it  your  pleasures  that  you  are  afraid  of  losing?  You 
think  you  shall  never  have  a  merry  day  again  if  once 
you  be  converted.  Alas  !  that  you  should  think  it  a 
greater  pleasure  to  live  in  foolish  sports  and  merri- 
ments, and  please  your  flesh,  than  to  live  in  the  be- 
lieving thoughts  of  glory,  and  in  the  love  of  God,  and 
in  righteousness,  and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost, 
in  which  the  state  of  grace  consisteth.  Rom.  xiv.  17. 
If  it  would  be  a  greater  pleasure  for  you  to  think  of 

10* 


114  A   CALL    TO 

your  lands  and  inheritance,  if  you  were  lord  of  all  the 
country,  than  it  is  for  a  child  to  play  at  pins  ;  why 
should  it  not  be  a  greater  joy  to  you  to  think  of  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  being  yours,  than  of  all  the  riches 
or  pleasures  of  the  Avorld  ?  As  it  is  but  foolish  childish- 
ness that  makes  children  so  delight  in  toys,  that  they 
would  not  leave  them  for  all  your  lands,  so  it  is  but 
foolish  worldliness,  and  fleshliness,  and  wickedness, 
that  makes  you  so  much  delight  in  your  houses  and 
lands,  and  meat  and  drink,  and  ease  and  honour,  as 
that  you  would  not  part  with  them  for  the  heavenly 
delights.  But  what  will  you  do  for  pleasure  when 
the*ie  are  gone?  Do  you  not  think  of  that?  When  your 
pleasures  end  in  horror,  and  go  out  like  a  taper,  the 
pleasures  of  the  saints  are  then  at  the  best.  I  have 
had  myself  but  a  little  taste  of  the  heavenly  pleasures 
in  the  forethoughts  of  the  blessed  approaching  day, 
and  in  the  present  persuasions  of  the  love  of  God  in 
Christ ;  but  I  have  taken  too  deep  a  draught  of  earthly 
pleasures :  so  that  you  may  see,  if  I  be  partial,  it  is 
on  your  side  ;  and  yet  I  must  profess  from  that  little 
experience,  that  there  is  no  comparison.  There  is 
more  joy  to  be  had  in  a  day,  if  the  sun  of  life  shine 
clear  upon  us,  in  the  state  of  holiness,  than  in  a  whole 
life  of  sinful  pleasures.  "  I  had  rather  be  a  door- 
keeper in  the  house  of  God,  than  to  dwell  in  the  tents 
of  wickedness."  Ps.  Ixxxiv.  10.  "A  day  in  his  courts 
is  better  than  a  thousand"  any  where  else.  Ps.  Ixxxiv. 
10.  The  mirth  of  the  wicked  is  like  the  laughter  of  a 
madman,  that  knows  not  his  own  misery ;  and  there- 
fore Solomon  says  of  such  laughter,  "  it  is  mad  ;  and 
of  mirth,  what  doth  it  ?"  EccTes.  ii.  2.  vii.  2—6.  "  It 
is  better  to  go  to  the  house  of  mourning,  than  to  so  to 
the  house  of  feasting ;  for  that  is  the  end  of  all  men, 
and  the  living  will  lay  it  to  his  heart.  vSorrow  is  better 
than  laughter ;  for  by  the  sadness  of  the  countenance 
the  heart  is  made  better.  The  heart  of  the  wise  is  in 
the  house  of  mourning;  but  the  heart  of  fools  is  in  the 
house  of  mirth.  It  is  better  to  bear  the  rebuke  of  the 
wise,  than  to  hear  the  song  of  fools  ;  for  as  the  crack- 
ling of  thorns  under  a  pot  so  is  the  laughter  of  the 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  115 

fool."  All  the  pleasure  of  fleshly  things  Is  but  like  the 
scratching  of  a  man  that  hath  the  itch ;  it  is  his  dis- 
ease that  makes  him  desire  it,  and  a  wise  man  had 
rather  be  without  his  pleasure  than  be  troubled  with 
his  itch.  Your  loudest  laughter  is  but  like  that  of  a 
man  that  is  tickled ;  he  laughs  when  he  has  no  cause 
of  joy.  Judge,  as  you  are  men,  whether  this  be  a 
wise  man's  part.  It  is  but  your  carnal  unsanctified 
nature  that  makes  a  holy  life  seem  grievous  to  you, 
and  a  course  of  sensuality  seem  more  delightful.  If 
you  will  but  turn,  the  Holy  Gliost  will  give  you 
another  nature  and  inclination,  and  then  it  will  be 
more  pleasant  to  you  to  be  rid  of  your  sin,  than  now 
it  is  to  keep  it ;  and  you  will  then  say,  that  you  knew 
not  what  a  comfortable  Ufe  was  till  now,  and  that  it 
was  never  well  with  you  till  God  and  holiness  were 
your  delight. 

Ques.  But  how  cometh  it  to  pass  that  men  should 
be  so  unreasonable  in  the  matters  of  salvation  ?  They 
have  wit  enough  in  other  matters :  what  makes  them 
so  loth  to  be  converted,  that  there  should  need  so  many 
words  in  so  plain  a  case,  and  all  will  not  do,  but  the 
most  will  live  and  die  unconverted? 

Answ.  To  name  them  only  in  a  few  words,  the 
causes  are  these : 

1.  Men  are  naturally  in  love  with  the  earth  and 
flesh ;  they  are  born  sinners,  and  their  nature  hath  an 
enmity  to  God  and  goodness,  as  the  nature  of  a  serpent 
hath  to  a  man :  and  when  all  that  we  can  say  goes 
against  an  habitual  inclination  of  their  natures,  no 
marvel  if  it  prevail  little. 

2.  They  are  in  darkness,  and  know  not  the  very 
things  they  hear.  Like  a  man  that  was  born  blind, 
and  hears  a  high  commendation  of  the  light ;  but  what 
will  hearing  do,  unless  he  sees  it  ?  They  know  not  what 
God  is,  nor  what  is  the  power  of  the  cross  of  Christ, 
nor  what  the  spirit  of  holiness  is,  nor  what  it  is  to  liv^e 
in  love  by  faith  :  they  know  not  the  certainty,  and  suit- 
ableness, and  excellency  of  the  heavenly  inheritance. 
They  knovsr  not  what  conversion  and  a  holy  mind  and 
conversation  is,  even  when  they  hear  of  it.   They  are  in 


116  k   CALL    TO 

a  mist  of  ignorance.  They  are  lost  and  bewildered  in 
sin ;  like  a  man  that  has  lost  himself  in  the  night,  and 
knoAvs  not  where  he  is,  nor  how  to  come  to  himself 
again,  till  the  daylight  recover  him. 

"^3.  They  are  wilfully  confident  that  they  need  no 
conversion,  but  some  partial  amendment ;  and  that  they 
are  in  the  way  to  heaven  already;  and  are  converted 
when  they  are  not.  And  if  you  meet  a  man  that  is 
quite  out  of  his  way,  you  may  long  enough  call  on  him 
to  turn  back  again,  if  he  will  not  believe  you  that  he 
is  out  of  the  way. 

4.  They  are  become  slaves  to  their  flesh,  and 
drowned  in  the  world  to  make  provision  for  it.  Their 
lusts,  and  passions,  and  appetites  have  distracted  them, 
and  got  such  a  hand  over  them,  that  they  cannot  tell 
how  to  deny  them,  or  how  to  mind  any  thing  else  ;  so 
that  the  drunkard  saith,  I  love  a  cup  of  good  drink, 
and  I  cannot  forbear  it:  the  glutton  saith,  I  love  good 
cheer,  and  I  cannot  forbear;  the  fornicator  saith,  I  love 
to  have  my  lust  fulfilled,  and  I  cannot  forbear ;  and  the 
gamester  loves  to  have  his  sports,  and  he  cannot  for- 
bear. So  that  they  are  become  even  captivated  slaves 
to  their  flesh,  and  their  very  wilfulness  is  become  an 
impotency  ;  and  what  they  would  not  do,  they  say  they 
cannot.  And  the  worldling  is  so  taken  up  with  eartlily 
things,  that  he  hath  neither  heart,  nor  mind,  nor  time, 
for  heavenl3^ ;  but,  as  in  Pharaoh's  dream.  Gen.  xli.  4. 
the  lean  kine  did  eat  up  the  fat  ones ;  so  this  lean  and 
barren  earth  doth  eat  up  all  the  thoughts  of  heaven. 

5.  Some  are  so  carried  away  by  the  stream  of  evil 
company,  that  they  are  possessed  with  hard  thoughts  of 
a  godly  life,  by  hearing  them  speak  against  it ;  or  at 
least  they  think  they  may  venture  to  do  as  they  see 
most  do,  and  so  they  hold  on  in  their  sinful  ways  ;  and 
when  one  is  cut  off,  and  cast  into  hell,  and  another 
snatched  away  from  among  tnem  to  the  same  condem- 
nation,— it  doth  not  much  daunt  them,  because  they 
see  not  whither  they  are  gone.  Poor  wretches,  they 
hold  on  in  their  ungodliness  for  ail  this ;  for  they  little 
know  that  their  companions  are  now  lamenting  it  in 
torments.    In  Luke  xvi.  the  rich  man  in  hell  would 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  117 

fain  have  had  one  to  warn  his  five  brethren,  lest  they 
should  come  to  that  place  of  torment.  It  is  Hkely  he 
knew  their  minds  and  lives,  and  knew  that  they  were 
hasting  thither,  and  Uttle  dreamt  that  he  was  there,  yea, 
and  would  little  have  believed  one  that  should  have 
told  them  so.  I  remember  a  passage  that  a  gentleman, 
yet  living,  told  me  he  saw  upon  a  bridge  over  the 
Severn.*  A  man  was  driving  a  flock  of  fat  lambs,  and 
something  meeting  them,  and  hindering  their  passage, 
one  of  the  lambs  leapt  upon  the  wall  of  the  bridge, 
and  his  legs  slipping  from  under  him,  he  fell  into  the 
stream ;  the  rest  seeing  him,  did,  one  after  one,  leap 
over  the  bridge  into  the  stream,  and  were  all  or  almost 
all  drowned.  Those  that  were  behind  did  little  know 
what  was  become  of  them  that  were  gone  before  ;  but 
thought  they  might  venture  to  follow  their  companions ; 
but  as  soon  as  ever  they  were  over  the  wall,  and  falling 
headlong,  the  case  wtis  altered. 

Even  so  it  is  with  unconverted  carnal  men.  One  dieth 
by  them,  and  drops  into  hell,  and  another  follows  the 
same  way;  and  yet  they  will  go  after  them,  because 
they  think  not  whither  they  are  gone.  O,  but  when 
death  hath  once  opened  their  eyes,  and  they  see  what 
is  on  the  other  side  of  the  wall,  even  in  another  world, 
then  what  would  they  give  to  be  where  they  were ! 

6.  Moreover,  they  have  a  subtle  malicious  enemy, 
that  is  unseen  of  them,  and  plays  his  game  in  the 
dark';  and  it  is  his  principal  business  to  hinder  their 
conversion  ;  and  therefore  to  keep  them  where  they 
are,  by  persuading  them  not  to  believe  the  Scriptures, 
or  not  to  trouble  their  minds  with  these  matters  ;  or  by 
persuading  them  to  think  ill  of  a  godly  life,  or  to  think 
that  more  is  enjoined  than  need  be,  and  that  they  may 
be  saved  without  conversion,  and  without  all  this  stir  ; 
and  that  God  is  so  merciful,  that  he  will  not  damn  any 
such  as  they  ;  or  at  least,  that  they  m.ay  stay  a  httle 
longer,  and  take  their  pleasure,  and  follow  the  world  a 
little  longer  yet,  and  then  let  it  go,  and  repent  here- 
after.   And  by  such  juggUng,  deluding  cheats  as  these, 

*  Mr,  R.  Rowly,  of  Shrewsbury,  upon  Acham-Bridge. 


Il8  A  CALL   TO 

the  devil  keeps  the  most  in  his  capacity,  and  leadeth 
them  to  his  misery. 

These,  and  such  like  impediments  as  these,  do  keep 
so  many  thousands  unconverted,  when  God  hath  done 
so  much,  and  Christ  hath  suffered  so  much,  and  minis- 
ters have  said  so  much  for  theij-  conversion :  when 
their  reasons  are  silenced  and  they  are  not  ahle  to  an- 
swer the  Lord  that  calls  after  them,  "  Turn  ye,  turn 
ye,  why  will  ye  die  ?"  yet  all  comes  to  nothing  with  the 
greatest  part  of  them ;  and  they  leave  us  no  ipore  to 
do  after  all,  but  to  sit  down  and  lament  their  wilful 
misery. 

I  have  now  showed  you  the  reasonableness  of  God's 
commands,  and  the  unreasonableness  of  wicked  men's 
disobedience.  If  nothing  will  serve  their  turn,  but  men 
will  yet  refuse  to  turn,  we  are  next  to  consider,  who 
is  in  fault  if  they  be  damned.  A'^'i  this  brings  me  to 
the  last  doctrine  ;  which  is, 

Doctrine  7.  That  if  after  all  this,  men  will  not  turn, 
it  is  not  the  fault  of  God  that  they  are  condemned, 
but  their  own,  even  their  own  wilfulness.  They  die 
because  they  will,  that  is,  because  they  will  not  turn. 

If  you  will  go  to  hell,  what  remedy  ?  God  here  ac- 
quits himself  of  your  blood  ;  it  shall  not  lie  on  him  if 
you  be  lost.  A  negligent  minister  may  draw  it  upon 
him ;  and  those  that  encourage  you  or  hinder  you  not  in 
sin,  may  draw  it  upon  them ;  but  be  sure  of  it,  it  shall 
not  lie  upon  God.  Saith  the  Lord  concerning  his  un- 
profitable vineyard  :  Isa.  v.  1 — 4.  "  Judge,  I  pray  you, 
betwixt  me  and  my  vineyard  :  what  could  have  been 
done  more  to  my  vineyard  that  I  have  not  done  in  it?" 
When  he  had  planted  it  in  a  fruitful  soil,  and  fenced  it, 
and  gathered  out  the  stones,  and  planted  it  with  the 
choicest  vines,  what  should  he  have  done  more  to  it? 
He  hath  made  you  men,  and  endowed  you  with  rea- 
son ;  he  hath  furnished  you  with  all  external  necessa- 
ries ;  all  creatures  are  at  your  service;  he  hath  given 
you  a  righteous  perfect  law.  When  ye  had  broken  it, 
and  undone  yourselves,  he  had  pity  on  you,  and  sent 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  119 

his  Son  by  a  miracle  of  condescending  mercy  to  die  for 
you,  and  be  a  sacrifice  for  your  sins  ;  and  he  was  in 
Christ  reconciling  the  word  to  himself! 

The  Lord  Jesus  hath  made  you  a  deed  of  gift  o* 
himself,  and  eternal  life  with  him,  on  the  condition 
you  will  but  accept  it,  and  return.  He  hath  on  this 
reasonable  condition  otiered  you  the  free  pardon  of  all 
your  sins  !  he  hath  written  this  in  his  word,  and  seal- 
ed it  by  his  Spirit,  and  sent  it  by  his  ministers  :  they 
have  made  the  ofl'er  to  you  a  hundred  and  a  hundred 
times,  and  called  you  to  accept  it,  and  to  turn  to  God. 
They  have  in  his  name  entreated  you,  and  reasoned 
the  case  with  you,  and  answered  all  your  frivolous 
objections.  He  hath  long  waited  on  you,  and  staid 
your  leisure,  and  suffered  you  to  abuse  him  to  his  face  ! 
He  hath  mercifully  sustained  you  in  the  midst  of  your 
sins ;  he  hath  compassed  you  about  with  all  sorts 
of  mercies ;  he  hath  also  intermixed  afflictions,  to  re- 
mind you  of  your  folly,  and  call  you  to  your  senses, 
and  his  Spirit  has  been  often  striving  with  your 
hearts,  and  saying  there,  '  Turn,  sinner,  turn  to  him 
that  calleth  thee :  Whither  art  thou  going?  What  art 
thou  doing?  Dost  thou  know  what  Avi  11  be  the  end? 
How  long  wilt  thou  hate  thy  friends,  and  love  thine 
enemies?  When  wilt  thou  let  go  all,  and  turn  and  de- 
liver thyself  to  God,  and  give  thy  redeemer  the  pos- 
session of  thy  soul  ?  When  shall  it  once  be  ?'  These 
pleadings  have  been  used  with  thee,  and  when  thou 
hast  delayed,  thou  hast  been  urged  to  make  haste,  and 
God  hath  called  to  thee,  "  To-day,  while  it  is  called 
to-day,  harden  not  thy  heart."  Why  not  now,  with- 
out any  more  delay?  Life  hath  been  set  before  you ; 
the  joys  of  heaven  have  been  opened  to  you  in  the 
gospel ;  the  certainty  of  them  hath  been  manifested  ; 
the  certainty  of  the  everlasting  torments  of  the  danmed 
hath  been  declared  to  you  ;  unless  you  would  have  had 
a  sight  of  heaven  and  hell,  what  could  you  desire 
more?  Christ  hath  been  as  it  were,  set  forth  crucified 
before  your  eyes.  Gal.  iii.  1.  You  have  been  a  hun- 
dred times  told  that  you  are  but  lost  men  till  you  come 
unto  him ;  as  oft  you  have  been  told  of  the  evil  of  sin, 


120  A    CALL   TO 

of  the  vanity  of  sin,  the  world,  and  all  the  pleasures 
and  wealth  it  can  atford  ;  of  the  shortness  and  uncer- 
tainty of  your  lives,  and  the  endless  duration  of  the 
joy  ov  torment  of  the  life  to  come.  All  this,  and  more 
than  this  have  you  been  told,  and  told  again,  even  till 
you  were  weary  of  hearing  it,  and  till  you  could  make 
the  lighter  of  it,  because  you  had  so  often  heard  it,  like 
the  smith's  dog,  that  is  brought  by  custom  to  sleep 
under  the  noise  of  the  hammers  and  when  the  sparks 
fly  about  his  ears  ;  and  though  all  this  have  not  con- 
verted you,  yet  you  are  alive,  and  might  have  mercy 
to  this  day,  if  you  had  but  hearts  to  entertain  it.  And 
now  let  reason  itself  be  the  judge,  whether  it  be  the 
fault  of  God  or  yours,  if  after  this  you  will  be  uncon- 
verted and  be  damned.  If  you  die  now,  it  is  because 
you  will  die.  What  should  be  said  more  to  you,  or 
what  course  should  be  taken  that  is  more  likely  to  pre- 
vail ?  Are  you  able  to  say  and  make  it  good,  '  We 
would  fain  have  been  converted  and  become  new 
creatures,  but  we  could  not ;  we  would  fain  have  for- 
saken our  sins,  but  we  could  not ;  we  would  have 
changed  our  company,  and  our  thoughts,  and  our  dis- 
course, but  we  could  not.'  Why  could  you  not,  if  you 
would  ?  What  hindered  you  but  the  wickedness  of 
your  hearts  ?  Who  forced  you  to  sin,  or  wlio  held  you 
back  from  duty  ?  Had  not  you  the  same  teaching,  and 
time,  and  liberty  to  be  godly,  as  your  godly  neighbours 
had  ?  Why  then  could  not  you  have  been  godly  as 
well  as  they  ?  Were  the  church  doors  shut  against  you, 
or  did  you  not  keep  away  yourselves,  or  sit  and  sleep, 
or  hear  as  if  you  did  not  hear?  Did  God  put  in  any 
exceptions  against  you  in  his  word,  when  he  invited 
sinners  to  return;  and  when  he  promised  mercy  to 
those  that  do  return?  Did  he  say,  'I  will  pardon  all 
that  repent  except  thee  ?'  Did  he  shut  thee  out  from 
the  liberty  of  his  holy  worship  ?  Did  he  forbid  you  to 
pray  to  him  any  more  than  others  ?  You  know  he  did 
not.  God  did  not  drive  you  away  from  him,  but  you 
forsook  him,  and  ran  away  yourselves,  and  when  he 
called  you  to  him,  you  would  not  come.  If  God  had 
excepted  you  out  of  the  general  promise  and  offer  of 


THE   TJJPfCOKTERTED.  131 

mercy,  or  had  said  to  you,  '  Stand  off,  I  will  have 
nothing  to  do  with*  such  as  you  ;  pray  not  to  me,  for  I 
will  not  hear  you  ;  if  you  repent  never  so  much,  and 
cry  for  mercy  never  so  much,  I  will  not  regard  you.' 
If  God  had  left  you  nothing  to  trust  to  but  despera- 
tion, then  you  had  had  a  fair  excuse ;  you  might  have 
said,  '  To  what  end  do  I  repent  and  turn,  when  it  will 
do  no  good?'  But  this  was  not  your  case  :  you  might 
have  had  Christ  to  be  your  Lord  and  Saviour,  your 
head  and  husband,  as  well  as  others,  and  you  would 
not,  because  you  felt  yourselves  not  sick  enough  for  the 
physician ;  and  because  you  could  not  spare  your  dis- 
ease. In  your  hearts  you  said  as  those  rebels,  Luke 
xix.  14.  "  We  will  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  us." 
Christ  would  have  gathered  you  under  the  wings  of 
his  salvation,  and  you  would  not.  Matt,  xxiii.  37. 
What  desires  of  your  welfare  did  the  Lord  express  in 
his  holy  word  ?  With  what  compassion  did  he  stand 
over  you,  and  say,  "  O  that  my  people  had  hearkened 
unto  me,  and  that  they  had  walked  in  my  ways  I" 
Psalm  xvii.  13.  Ixxvi.  13.  "O  tlj^at  there  were  such  a 
heart  in  this  people,  that  they  would  fear  me,  and  keep 
all  my  commandments  always  ;  that  it  might  be  well 
with  them  and  with  their  children  for  ever  !'^  Deut.  v. 
29.  "  O  that  they  were  wise,  that  they  understood 
this,  that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end  I" 
Deut.  xxxii.  29.  He.  would  have  been  your  God,  and 
done  all  for  you  that  your  souls  could  well  desire : 
but  you  loved  the  world  and  your  flesh  above  him,  and 
therefore  you  would  not  hearken  to  him  :  though  you 
complimented  him,  and  gave  him  high  titles ;  yet  when 
it  came  to  the  closing,  you  would  have  none  of  him. 
Psalm  Ixxxi.  11.  12.  No  marvel  then  if  he  gave  you 
up  to  your  own  hearts'  lusts,  and  you  walked  in  your 
own  councils.  He  condescends  to  reason,  and  pleads 
the  case  with  you,  and  asks  you,  'What  is  there  in 
me,  or  my  service,  that  you  should  be  so  much  against 
me?  What  harm  have  I  done  thee,  sinner?  Havel 
deserved  this  unkind  dealing  at  thy  hand?  Many  mer- 
cies have  I  showed  thee  :  for  which  of  them  dost  thou 
thus  despise  me?  Is  it  I,  oris  it  Satan,  that  is  thy 

11 


122  A   CALL   TO 

enemy?  Is  it  I,  or  is  it  thy  carnal  self  that  would  undo 
thee?  Is  it  a  holy  life,  or  a  life  of -sin  that  thou  hast 
cause  to  fly  from?  If  thou  be  undone,  thou  procurest 
this  to  thyself,  by  forsaking  me,  the  Lord  that  would 
have  saved  thee.'  Jer.  ii.  7.  "  Doth  not  thy  own 
wickedness  correct  thee,  and  thy  sin  reprove  thee  ? 
Thou  mayst  see  that  it  is  an  evil  and  bitter  thing 
that  thou  hast  forsaken  me."  Jer.  ii.  19.  "  What  ini- 
quity have  you  found  in  me  that  you  have  followed 
after  vanity,  and  forsaken  me  ?"  Jer.  ii.  5,  6.  He 
calleth  out,  as  it  were,  to  the  brutes,  to  hear  the  con- 
troversy he  hath  against  you.  Mic.  ii.  3 — 5.  "  Hear, 
O  ye  mountains,  the  Lord's  controversy,  and  ye  strong 
foundations  of  the  earth  ;  for  the  Lord  hath  a  contro- 
versy with  his  people,  and  he  will  plead  with  Israel. 
O  my  people,  what  have  I  done  unto  thee,  and  wherein 
have  I  wearied  thee  ?  testify  against  me,  for  I  brought 
thee  up  out  of  Egypt,  and  redeemed  thee."  "  Hear,  O 
heavens,  and  give  ear,  O  earth,  for  the  Lord  hath 
spoken.  I  have  nourished  and  brought  up  children, 
and  they  have  rebelled  against  me.  The  ox  knoweth 
his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib ;  but  Israel 
doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not  consider  !  Ah  sin- 
ful nation,  a  people  laden  with  iniquity,  a  seed  of  evil 
doers !"  &.c.  Is.  i.  2 — 4.  "  Do  you  thus  requite  the 
Lord,  O  foolish  people,  and  unwise?  Is  not  he  thy  fa- 
ther that  bought  thee  ?  Hath  he  not  made  thee,  and 
established  thee  ?"  Deut.  xxxii.  6.  When  he  saw  that 
you  forsook  him,  even  for  nothing,  and  turned  away 
from  your  Lord  and  life,  to  hunt  after  the  chaff  and  fea- 
thers of  the  world,  he  told  you  of  your  folly,  and  called 
you  to  a  more  profitable  employment,  Isa.  Iv.  1 — 3. 
"  Wherefore  do  ye  spend  your  money  for  that  which 
is  not  bread,  and  your  labour  for  that  which  satisfieth 
not?  Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that 
which  is  good,  and  let  your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness. 
Incline  your  ear  and  come  unto  me ;  hear,  and  your 
soul  shall  Uve ;  and  I  will  make  an  everlasting  cove- 
nant with  you,  even  the  sure  mercies  of  David.  Seek 
ye  the  Lord  while  he  may  be  found  :  call  ye  upon  him 
while  he  is  near.    Let  the  wicked  forsake  his  way,  and 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  123 

the  unrighteous  man  his  thoughts,  and  let  him  return 
unto  the  Lord,  and  he  will  have  mercy  upon  him  ;  and 
to  our  God,  for  he  will  abundantly  pardon,"  and  so 
Isa.  i.  16 — 18.  And  when  you  would  not  hear,  what 
complaints  have  you  put  him  to,  charging  it  on  you  as 
your  wilfulness  and  stubbornness.  Jer.  ii.  12,  13. 
"  Be  astonished,  O  heavens,  at  this,  and  be  horribly 
afraid ;  for  my  people  have  committed  two  evils ;  they 
have  forsaken  me,  the  fountain  of  living  waters,  and 
hewed  them  out  cisterns,  broken  cisterns,  that  can  hold 
no  water."  Many  a  time  hath  Christ  proclaimed  that 
free  invitation  to  you,  Rev.  xxii.  17.  "Let  him  that 
is  athirst  come,  and  whosoever  will,  let  him  take  the 
water  of  life  freely."  But  you  put  him  to  complain, 
after  all  his  offers  :  "  They  will  not  come  to  me,  that 
they  may  have  life."  John  v.  40.  He  hath  invited 
you  to  feast  with  him  in  the  kingdom  of  his  grace,  and 
you  have  had  excuses  from  your  grounds,  and  your 
cattle,  and  your  worldly  business ;  and  when  you  would 
not  come,  you  have  said  you  could  not ;  and  provoked 
him  to  resolve  that  you  should  never  taste  of  his  sup- 
per, Luke  xiv.  16 — 25.  And  who  is  it  the  fault  of  now 
but  yourselves  ?  and  what  can  you  say  is  the  chief  cause 
of  your  damnation  but  your  own  wills  ?  you  would  be 
damned.  The  whole  case  is  laid  open  by  Christ  him- 
self, Prov.  i.  20 — 33.  "  Wisdom  crieth  without,  she 
uttereth  her  voice  in  the  streets  ;  she  crieth  in  the  chief 
place  of  the  concourse, — How  long,  ye  simple  ones, 
will  ye  love  simplicity,  and  the  scorners  delight  in  iheir 
scorning,  and  fools  hate  knowledge  ?  Turn  ye  at  my 
reproof.  Behold,  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  upon  you, 
I  will  make  known  my  words  unto  you.  Because  I 
have  called,  and  ye  refused.  I  have  stretched  out  my 
hands  and  no  man  regarded  ;  but  ye  have  set  at  naught 
all  my  counsels,  and  would  none  of  my  reproofs.  I 
also  will  laugh  at  your  calamity,  I  will  mock  when 
your  fear  cometh :  when  your  fear  cometh  as  desola- 
tion, and  your  destruction  cometh  as  a  whirlwind  ; 
when  distress  and  anguish  cometh  upon  you,  then  shall 
they  call  upon  me,  but  I  will  not  answer ;  they  shall 
seek  me  early,  but  they  shall  not  find  me  ;  for  that  they 


124  A   CALL   TO 

hated  knowledge,  and  did  not  choose  the  fear  of  the 
Lord.  They  would  none  of  my  counsels  :  they  des- 
pised all  my  reproofs ;  therefore  shall  they  eat  of  the 
fruit  of  their  own  w^ay,  and  be  filled  with  their  own 
devices.  For  the  turning  away  of  the  simple  shall  sla}'' 
them,  and  the  prosperity  of  fools  shall  destroy  them. 
But  whoso  hearkeneth  to  me  shall  dwell  safely,  and 
shall  be  quiet  from  the  fear  of  evil."  I  thought  best  to 
recite  the  whole  text  at  large  to  you,  because  it  doth 
so  fully  show  the  cause  of  the  destruction  of  the  wicked. 
It  is  not  because  God  would  not  teach  them,  but  be- 
cause they  would  not  learn.  It  is  not  because  God 
would  not  call  them,  but  because  they  would  not  turn 
at  his  reproof.     Their  wilfulness  is  their  undoing. 

Use. — From  what  hath  been  said,  you  may  further 
learn  these  folio winor  things  : 

1.  From  hence  you  may  see,  not  only  what  blas- 
phemy and  impiety  it  is  to  lay  the  blame  of  men's 
destruction  upon  God ;  but  also  1k)w  unfit  these  wicked 
wretches  are  to  bring  in  such  a  charge  against  their 
Maker !  They  cry  out  upon  God,  and  say  he  gives 
them  not  grace,  and  his  threatenings  are  severe,  and 
God  forbid  that  all  should  be  condemned  that  be  not 
converted  and  sanctified  ;  and  they  think  it  hard  mea- 
sure that  a  short  sin  should  have  an  endless  suffering ; 
and  if  they  be  damned,  they  say  they  cannot  help  it, 
when  in  the  mean  time  they  are  busy  about  their  owa 
destruction,  even  the  destruction  of  their  own  souls, 
and  will  not  be  persuaded  to  hold  their  hands.  They 
think  God  were  cruel,  if  he  should  condemn  them ; 
and  yet  they  are  so  cruel  to  themselves,  that  they  will 
run  into  the  fire  of  hell,  when  God  hath  told  them  it  is 
a  little  before  them  ;  and  neither  entreaties,  nor  threat- 
enings, nor  any  thing  that  can  be  said,  will  stop  them. 
We  see  them  almost  undone ;  their  careless,  worldly, 
fleshly  lives  tell  us  that  they  are  in  the  power  of  the 
devil ;  we  know,  if  they  die  before  they  are  converted, 
all  the  world  cannot  save  them;  and  knowing  the 
uncertainty  of  their  lives,  we  are  afraid  every  day  lest 
they  drop  into  the  fire :  and  therefore  we  entreat  them 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  125 

to  pity  their  own  souls,  and  not  to  undo  themselves 
when  mercy  is  at  hand ;  and  they  will  not  hear  us. 
We  entreat  them  to  cast  away  their  sin,  and  come  to 
Christ  without  delay,  and  to  have  some  mercy  oil 
themselves,  but  they  will  have  none  ;  and  yet  they 
think  that  God  must  be  cruel  it'  he  condemn  them.  O 
wilful  miserable  sinners  !  it  is  not  God  that  is  cruel  to 
you,  it  is  you  that  are  cruel  to  yourselves ;  you  are 
told  you  must  turn  or  burn,  and  yet  you  turn  not.  You 
are  told  that  if  you  will  needs  keep  your  sins,  you  shall 
keep  the  curse  of  God  with  them;  and  yet  you  will 
keep  them.  You  are  told  that  there  is  no  way  to  hap- 
piness but  by  holiness ;  and  yet  you  will  not  be  holy. 
What  would  you  have  God  say  more  to  you  ?  What 
v/ould  you  have  him  do  with  his  mercy  ?  He  ofTereth 
it  to  you,  and  you  will  not  have  it.  You  are  in  the 
ditch  of  sin,  and  misery,  and  lie  would  give  you  his 
hand  to  help  you  out,  and  you  refuse  his  help;  he 
would  cleanse  you  of  your  sins,  and  you  had  rather 
keep  them ;  you  love  your  lust,  and  love  your  gluttony 
and  sports,  and  drunkenness,  and  will  not  let  them  go  ; 
would  you  have  him  bring  you  to  heaven  whether 
you  will  or  not  ?  Or  would  you  have  him  bring  you 
and  3^our  sins  to  heaven  together?  Why,  that  is  an 
impossibility ;  you  may  as  well  expect  he  should  turn 
the  sun  into  darkness.  AVhat!  an  unsanctified  fleshly 
heart  be  in  heaven  ?  it  cannot  be.  There  entereth 
nothing  that  is  unclean.  Rev.  xxi.  17.  "  For  what 
communion  hath  Hght  with  darkness,  or  Christ  with 
Belial !"  2  Cor.  vi.  i'4,  15.  "All  the  day  long  hath  he 
stretched  out  his  hands  to  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying 
people."  Rom.  x.  21.  What  will  you  do  now?  Will 
you  cry  to  God  for  mercy  ?  Why,  God  calleth  upon 
you  to  have  mercy  upon  yourselves,  and  you  will  not! 
Ministers  see  the  poisoned  cup  in  the  drunkard's  hand, 
and  tell  him  there  is  poison  in  it,  and  desire  him  to 
have  mercy  on  his  soul,  and  forbear,  and  he  will  not 
hear  us  !  Drink  it  he  must  and  will ;  he  loves  it,  and 
therefore,  thoufrh  hell  comes  next,  he  saith  he  can- 
not help  it.  What  should  one  say  to  such  men  as 
these?     We  tell  the  ungodly  careless  worldling,  it  is 

11* 


126  A  CALL   TO 

not  such  a  life  that  will  serve  the  turn,  or  ever  bring 
you  to  heaven.  If  a  bear  were  at  your  back,  you 
would  mend  your  pace ;  and  when  the  curse  of  God 
is  at  your  back,  and  Satan  and  hell  are  at  your  back, 
will  you  not  stir,  but  ask,  What  needs  all  this  ado  ? 
Is  an  immortal  soul  of  no  more  worth?  O  have  mercy 
upon  yourselves !  But  they  will  have  no  mercy  on 
themselves,  nor  once  regard  us.  We  tell  them  the 
end  will  be  bitter.  Who  can  dwell  with  the  everlast- 
ing fire  ?  And  yet  they  will  have  no  mercy  on  them- 
selves. And  yet  will  these  shameless  transgressors 
say,  that  God  is  more  merciful  than  to  condemn  them ; 
when  it  is  themselves  that  cruelly  and  unmercifully  run 
upon  condemnation ;  and  if  we  should  go  to  them, 
and  entreat  them,  we  cannot  stop  them;  if  we  should 
fall  on  our  knees  to  them,  we  cannot  stop  them,  but  to 
hell  they  will  go,  and  yet  will  not  believe  that  they 
are  going  thither.  If  we  beg  of  them  for  the  sake  of 
God  that  made  them,  and  preserveth  them ;  for  the 
sake  of  Christ,  that  died  for  them ;  for  the  sake  of  their 
own  souls,  to  pity  themselves,  and  go  no  further  in 
the  way  to  hell,  but  come  to  Christ  while  his  arms  are 
open,  and  enter  into  the  state  of  life  while  the  door 
stands  open,  and  now  take  mercy  while  mercy  may  be 
had,  they  will  not  be  persuaded,  li^  we  should  die  for 
it,  we  cannot  so  much  as  get  them  now  and  then  to 
consider  with  themselves  of  the  matter,  and  turn;  and 
yet  they  can  say,  '  I  hope  God  will  be  merciful.'  Did 
you  never  consider  what  he  saith,  Isa.  xxvii.  11.  "It 
is  a  people  of  no  understanding  ;  therefore,  he  that 
made  them  will  not  have  mercy  on  them,  and  he  that 
formed  them  will  show  them  no  favour."  If  another 
man  will  not  clothe  you  when  you  are  naked,  and  feed 
you  when  you  are  hungry,  you  will  say  he  is  unmerci- 
ful. If  he  should  cast  you  into  prison,  or  beat  and  tor- 
ment you,  you  would  say  he  is  unmerciful ;  and  yet 
you  will  do  a  thousand  times  more  against  yourselves, 
even  cast  away  both  soul  and  body  for  ever,  and  never 
complain  of  your  own  unmercifulness  !  Yea,  and  God 
that  waited  upon  you  all  the  while  with  his  mercy, 
must  be  taken  to  be  unmerciful,  if  he  punish  you  after 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  127 

all  this.  Unless  the  holy  God  of  heaven  will  give  these 
wretches  leave  to  trample  upon  his  Son's  blood,  and 
with  the  Jews,  as  it  were,  again  to  spit  in  his  face, 
and  do  despite  to  the  spirit  of  grace,  and  make  a  jest 
of  sin,  and  a  mock  at  holiness,  and  set  more  light  by 
saving  mercy  than  by  the  filth  of  their  fleshly  plea- 
sures ;  and  unless,  after  all  this,  he  will  save  them  by 
the  mercy  which  they  cast  away  and  would  have  none 
of,  God  himself  must  be  called  unmerciful  by  them  I 
But  he  will  be  justified  when  he  judgeth,  and  he  will 
not  stand  or  fall  at  the  bar  of  a  sinful  worm. 

I  know  there  are  many  particular  cavils  that  are 
brought  by  them  against  the  Lord  ;  but  I  shall  not 
here  stay  to  answer  them  particularly,  having  done  it 
already  in  my  Treatise  of  Judgment^  to  which  I  shall 
refer  them.  Had  the  disputing  part  of  the  world  been 
as  careful  to  avoid  sin  and  destruction,  as  they  have 
been  busy  in  searching  after  the  cause  of  them,  and 
forward  indirectly  to  impute  it  to  God,  they  might 
have  exercised  their  wits  more  profitably,  and  have 
less  wronged  God,  and  sped  better  themselves.  When 
so  ugly  a  monster  as  sin  is  within  us,  and  so  heavy  a 
thing  as  punishment  is  on  us,  and  so  dreadful  a  thing 
as  hell  is  before  us,  one  would  think  it  should  be  an 
easy  question,  who  is  in  the  fault,  whether  God  or  man 
be  the  principal  or  culpable  cause  ?  Some  men  are 
such  favourable  judges  of  themselves,  that  they  are 
more  prone  to  accuse  the  infinite  perfection  and  good- 
ness itself,  than  their  own  hearts,  and  imitate  their  first 
parents,  that  said,  "  The  serpent  tempted  me  ;  and 
the  woman  that  thou  gavest  me,  gave  unto  me,  and  I 
did  eat ;"  secretly  implying  that  God  was  the  cause. 
So  say  they ;  "  The  understanding  that  thou  gavest 
me  was  unable  to  discern ;  the  will  that  thou  gavest 
me  was  unable  to  make  a  better  choice  ;  the  objects 
which  thou  didst  set  before  me  did  entice  me  ;  the 
temptations  which  thou  didst  permit  to  assault  me  pre- 
vailed against  me."  And  some  are  so  loth  to  think 
that  God  can  make  a  self-deiermining  creature,  that 
they  dare  not  deny  him  that  which  they  take  to  be  his 
prerogative,  to  be  the  determiner  of  the  will  in  every 


128  K  CALL  TO 

sin,  as  the  first  efficient  immediate  physical  cause ;  and 
many  could  be  content  to  acquit  God  from  so  much 
causing  of  evil,  if  they  could  but  reconcile  it  with  his 
being  the  chief  cause  of  good  ;  as  if  truths  would  be  no 
lonfirer  truths  than  we  are  able  to  see  them  in  their 
perfect  order  and  coherence  :  because  our  ravelled  wits 
cannot  see  them  right  together,  nor  assign  each  truth  its 
proper  place,  we  presume  to  conclude  that  some  must 
be  cast  away.  This  is  the  fruit  of  proud  self-conceit- 
edness,  when  men  receive  not  God's  truth  as  a  child 
his  less(m,  in  holy  submission  to  the  omniscience  of  our 
Teacher,  but  censurers,  that  are  too  wise  to  learn. 

Object.  But  we  cannot  convert  ourselves  till  God  con- 
vert us;  we  can  do  nothing  without  his  grace;  it  is 
not  in  him  that  willeth,  nor  in  him  that  runneth,  but  in 
God  that  showeth  mercy. 

Answ.  1.  God  hath  two  degrees  of  mercy  to  show; 
the  mercy  of  conversion  first,  and  the  mercy  of  salva- 
tion last ;  the  latter  he  Avill  give  to  none  but  those  that 
will  and  run,  and  hath  promised  it  to  them  only.  The 
former  is  to  make  them  willing  that  are  unwillins^ :  and 
though  your  own  willingness  and  endeavours  deserve 
not  his  grace,  yet  your  wilful  refusal  deserveth  that  it 
should  be  denied  to  you.  Your  disability  is  your  very 
unwillingness  itself,  which  excuseth  not  your  sin, 
but  maketh  it  the  greater.  You  could  turn  if  you  were 
but  truly  willing ;  and  if  your  wills  themselves  are  so 
corrupted,  that  nothing  but  effectual  grace  will  move 
them,  you  have  more  cause  to  seek  for  that  grace, 
and  yield  to  it,  and  do  what  you  can  in  the  use  of 
means,  and  not  neglect  it,  and  set  against  it.  Do  what 
you  are  able  first,  and  then  complain  of  God  for  deny- 
ing you  grace,  if  you  have  cause. 

Object.  But  you  seem  to  intimate  all  this  while  that 
man  hath  free  will. 

Answ.  1.  The  dispute  about  free  will  is  beyond  your 
capacity ;  I  shall  therefore  now  trouble  you  with  no 
.more  but  this  about  it.  Your  will  is  naturally  a  free, 
that  is,  a  self-determining  faculty ;  but  it  is  viciously 
inclined,  and  backward  to  do  good  ;  and  therefore  we 
see,  by  sad  experience,  that  it  hath  not  a  virtuous 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  129 

moral  freedom :  but  that  it  is  the  wickedness  of  it 
which  deserveth  the  puaishment ;  and  I  pray  you, 
let  us  not  befool  ourselves  with  opinions.  Let  the  case 
be  your  own.  If  you  had  an  enemy  that  was  so  mali- 
cious as  to  fall  upon  you,  and  beat  you,  or  take  away 
the  lives  of  your  children,  would  you  excuse  him,  be- 
cause he  said,  I  have  not  free  will ;  it  is  my  nature  ;  I 
cannot  choose  unless  God  give  me  grace  ?  If  you  had 
a  servant  that  robbed  you,  would  you  take  such  an 
answer  from  him  ?  Might  not  every  thief  and  mur- 
derer that  is  hanged  at  the  assize  give  such  an  answer : 
I  have  not  fj-ee  will ;  I  cannot  change  my  own  heart ; 
what  can  I  do  without  God's  grace  ?  and  shall  they 
therefore  be  acquitted?  If  not,  why  then  should  you 
think  to  be  acquitted  for  a  course  of  sin  against  the 
Lord  ? 

2.  From  hence  also  you  may  observe  these  three 
things  together : — 1.  What  a  subtle  tempter  Satan  is. 
2.  What  a  deceitful  thing  sin  is.  3.  What  a  foolish 
creature  corrupted  man  is.  A  subtle  tempter  indeed,  that 
can  persuade  the  greatest  part  of  the  world  to  go  into 
everlasting  fire,  when  they  have  so  many  warnings 
and  dissuasives  as  they  have !  A  deceitful  thing  is  sin 
indeed,  that  can  bewitch  so  many  thousands  to  part 
with  everlasting  life,  for  a  thing  so  base  and  utterly 
unworthy !  A  foolish  creature  is  man  indeed,  that  will 
be  cheated  of  his  salvation  for  nothing,  yea,  for  a 
known  nothing  ;  and  that  by  an  enemy,  and  a  known 
enemy.  You  would  think  it  impossible  that  any  man 
in  his  wits  should  be  persuaded  for  a  httle  to  cast  him- 
self into  the  fire,  or  water,  or  into  a  coal-pit,  to  the 
destruction  of  his  life  ;  and  yet  men  will  be  enticed  to 
cast  themselves  into  hell.  If  your  natural  lives  were 
in  your  own  hands,  that  you  should  not  die  till  you 
would  kill  yourselves,  how  long  would  most  of  you 
live.''  And  yet  when  your  everlasting  life  is  so  far  in 
your  own  hands  under  God,  that  you  cannot  be  undone 
till  you  undo  yourselves,  how  few  of  you  will  forbear 
your  own  undoing  ?  Ah,  what  a  silly  thing  is  man  ! 
and  what  a  bewitching  and  befooling  thing  is  sin ! 

3.  From  hence  also  you  may  learn,  that  it  is  no  great 


130  A   CA.LL   TO 

wonder  if  wicked  men  be  hinderers  of  others  in  the 
way  to  heaven,  and  would  have  as  many  unconverted 
as  they  can,  and  would  draw  them  into  sin,  and  keep 
them  in  it.  Can  you  expect  that  they  should  have 
mercy  on  others,  that  have  none  upon  themselves?  and 
that  they  should  hesitate  much  at  the  destruction  of 
others,  that  hesitate  not  to  destroy  themselves  ?  They 
do  no  worse  by  others  than  they  do  by  themselves. 

4.  Lastly,  You  may  hence  learn  that  the  greatest 
enemy  to  man  is  himself;  and  tiie  greatest  judgment 
in  this  life  that  can  befall  him,  is  to  be  left  to  himself; 
that  the  great  work  that  grace  hath  to  do,  is  to  save 
us  from  ourselves ;  that  the  greatest  accusations  and 
complaints  of  men  should  be  against  themselves  ;  that 
the  greatest  work  that  we  have  to  do  ourselves,  is  to 
resist  ourselves ;  and  the  greatest  enemy  that  we  should 
daily  pray,  and  watch,  and  strive  against,  is  our  own 
carnal  hearts  and  wills  ;  and  the  greatest  part  of  your 
work,  if  you  would  do  good  to  others,  and  help  them 
to  heaven,  is  to  save  them  from  themselves,  even  from 
their  blind  understandings  and  corrupted  wills,  and 
perverse  affections,  and  violent  passions,  and  unruly 
senses.  I  only  name  all  these  for  brevity's  sake,  and 
leave  them  to  your  further  consideration. 

Well,  sirs,  now  we  have  found  out  the  great  delin- 
quent and  murderer  of  souls,  (even  men's  selves,  their 
own  wills,)  what  remains  but  that  you  judge  accord- 
ing to  the  evidence,  and  confess  this  great  iniquity 
before  the  Lord,  and  be  humbled  for  it,  and  do  so  no 
more?  To  these  three  ends  distinctly,  I  shall  add  a 
few  words  more.  1.  Further  to  convince  you.  2.  To 
humble  you.  And,  3.  To  retbrm  you  if  there  yet  be 
any  hope. 

1.  We  know  so  much  of  the  exceeding  gracious 
nature  of  God,  who  is  willing  to  do  good,  and  delight- 
eth  to  show  mercy,  that  we  have  no  reason  to  suspect 
him  of  being  the  culpable  cause  of  our  death,  or  to  call 
him  cruel ;  he  made  all  good,  and  he  preserveth  and 
maintaineth  all:  the  eyes  of  all  wait  upon  him,  and  he 
giveth  them  their  meat  in  due  season ;  he  openeth  his 
hand,  and  satisfieth  the  dfisires  of  all  the  living.  Psalm 


THE   UWCOKVEHTED.  131 

cxlv.  15, 16.  He  is  not  only  righteous  in  all  his  ways, 
and  therefore  will  deal  justly ;  and  holy  in  all  his  worksj 
and  therefore  not  the  author  of  sin ;  but  he  is  also  good 
to  all,  and  his  tender  mercies  are  over  all  his  works. 
Psalm  cxlv.  17,  19. 

But  as  for  man,  we  know  his  mind  is  dark,  his  will 
perverse,  and  his  affections  carry  him  so  headlong,  that 
he  is  fitted  by  his  folly  and  corruption  to  such  a  work 
as  the  destroying  of  himself.  If  you  saw  a  lamb  lie 
killed  in  the  way,  would  you  sooner  suspect  the  sheep, 
or  the  dog,  or  the  wolf,  to  be  the  author  of  it,  if  they 
both  stand  by  ?  Or  if  you  see  a  house  broken  open 
and  the  people  murdered,  would  you  sooner  suspect 
the  prince  or  judge,  that  is  wise  and  just,  and  had  no 
need,  or  a  known  thief  or  murderer  ?  I  say  therefore, 
as  James  i.  13 — 15,  "Let  no  man  say,  when  he  is 
tempted,  that  he  is  tempted  of  God,  for  God  cannot  be 
tempted  with  evil,  neither  tempteth  he  any  man  to  draw 
him  to  sin ;  but  every  man  is  tempted,  when  he  is 
drawn  away  of  his  own  lust,  and  enticed.  Then  when 
lust  hath  conceived,  it  bringeth  forth  sin  ;  and  sin, 
when  it  is  finished,  bringeth  forth  death."  You  see 
here  that  sin  is  the  offspring  of  your  own  concupiscence, 
and  not  to  be  charged  on  God,  and  that  death  is  the 
offspring  of  your  own  sin,  and  the  fruit  which  it  will 
yield  you  as  soon  as  it  is  ripe.  You  have  a  treasure 
of  evil  in  yourselves,  as  a  spider  hath  of  poison,  from 
whence  you  are  bringing  forth  hurt  to  yourselves,  and 
spinning  such  webs  as  entangle  your  own  souls.  Your 
nature  shows  it  is  you  that  are  the  cause. 

2.  It  is  evident  that  you  are  your  own  destroyers,  in 
that  you  are  so  ready  to  entertain  any  temptation 
almost  that  is  offered  you.  Satan  is  scarcely  more 
ready  to  move  you  to  any  evil,  than  you  are  ready  to 
hear,  and  to  do  as  he  would  have  you.  If  he  would 
tempt  your  understanding  to  error  and  prejudice,  you 
yield.  If  he  would  hinder  you  from  good  resolutions, 
it  is  soon  done.  If  he  Avould  cool  any  good  desires  or 
affections,  it  is  soon  done.  If  he  would  kindle  any  lust, 
or  vile  affections  and  desires  in  you,  it  is  soon  done.  If 
he  will  put  you  on  to  evil  thoughts,  or  deeds,  you  are 


132  A    CALL    TO 

SO  free,  that  he  needs  no  rod  or  spur  If  he  would 
keep  you  from  holy  thoughts,  and  words,  and  ways,  a 
little  doth  it,  you  need  no  curb.  You  examine  not  hia 
suo^gestions,  nor  resist  them  with  any  resolution,  nor 
cast  them  out  as  he  casts  them  in,  nor  quench  the 
sparks  which  he  endeavoureth  to  kindle ;  but  you  set 
in  with  him,  and  meet  him  half  way,  and  embrace  his 
motions,  and  tempt  him  to  tempt  you.  And  it  is  easy 
to  catch  such  greedy  fish  that  are  ranging  for  a  bait, 
and  will  take  the  bare  hook. 

3.  Your  destruction  is  evidently  of  yourselves,  in  that 
you  resist  all  that  would  help  to  save  you,  and  would 
do  you  good,  or  hinder  you  from  undoing  yourselves. 
God  would  help  and  save  you  by  his  word,  and  you 
resist  it  :  it  is  too  strict  for  you.  He  would  sanctify 
you  by  his  Spirit,  and  you  resist  and  quench  it.  If 
any  man  reprove  you  for  your  sin,  you  fly  in  his  face 
with  evil  words  :  and  if  he  would  draw  you  to  a  holy 
life,  and  tell  you  of  your  present  danger,  you  give  him 
little  thanks,  but  either  bid  him  look  to  himself,  he  shall 
not  answer  for  you  ;  else,  at  best,  you  put  him  off  with 
heartless  thanks,  and  will  not  turn  when  you  are  per- 
suaded. If  ministers  would  privately  instruct  and  help 
you,  you  will  not  come  to  them  ;  your  unhumbled  souls 
feel  but  little  need  of  their  help  ;  if  they  would  catechise 
you,  you  are  too  old  to  be  catechised,  though,  you 
are  not  too  old  to  be  ignorant  and  unholy.  Whatever 
they  can  say  to  you  for  your  good,  you  are  so  self-con- 
ceited and  wise  in  your  own  eyes,  even  in  the  depth  of 
ignorance,  that  you  will  regard  nothing  thai  agreeth  not 
with  your  present  conceits,  but  contradict  your  teachers, 
as  if  you  were  wiser  than  they ;  you  resist  all  that  they 
can  say  to  you  by  your  ignorance,  and  wilfulness,  and 
foolish  cavils,  and  shifting  evasions,  and  unthankful  re- 
jections, so  that  no  good  that  is  offered  can  find  any  wel- 
come acceptance  and  entertainment  with  you. 

4.  Moreover,  it  is  apparent  that  you  are  self-destroy- 
ers, in  that  you  "  draw  the  matter  of  your  sin  and 
destruction  even  from  the  blessed  God  himself"  You 
like  not  the  contrivances  oi^  his  wisdom  ;  you  like  not 
his  justice,  but  take  it  for  cruelty ;  you  like  not  his 


THE    UjCf CONVERTED.  133 

holiness,  but  are  ready  to  think  he  is  such  a  one  as 
yourselves,  Psalm  1.  21.  and  makes  as  light  of  sin  as 
you ;  you  like  not  his  truth,  but  would  have  his  threat- 
enings,  even  his  peremptory  threatenings,  prove  false ; 
and  his  goodness,  which  you  seem  most  highly  to  ap- 
prove, you  partly  resist,  as  it  would  lead  you  to  repent- 
ance ;  and  partly  abuse,  to  the  strengthening  of  your 
sin,  as  if  you  might  more  freely  sin  because  God  is 
merciful,  and  because  his  grace  doth  so  much  abound. 

5.  Yea,  you  fetch  destruction  from  the  blessed  Re- 
deemer, and  death  from  the  Lord  of  life  himself!  and 
nothing  more  emboldeneth  you  in  sin,  than  that  Christ 
hath  died  for  you ;  as  if  now  the  danger  of  death  were 
over,  and  you  might  boldly  venture  ;  as  if  Christ  were 
become  a  servant  to  Satan  and  your  sins,  and  must 
wait  upon  you  while  you  are  abusing  him ;  and  because 
he  is  become  the  Physician  of  souls,  and  is  able  to  save 
to  the  uttermost  all  that  come  to  God  by  him,  you 
think  he  must  suffer  you  to  refuse  his  help,  and  throw 
away  his  medicines,  and  must  save  you  whether  you 
will  come  to  God  by  him  or  not :  so  that  a  great  part 
of  your  sins  arc  occasioned  by  your  bold  presumption 
upon  the  death  of  Christ, — not  considering  that  he 
came  to  redeem  his  people  from  their  sins,  and  to  sanc- 
tify them  a  pecuUar  people  to  himself,  and  to  conform 
them  in  holiness  to  the  image  of  their  heavenly  Father, 
and  to  their  head.  Mat.  i.  21.  Tit.  ii.  14.  1  Pet.  i.  15, 
16.     Col.  iii.  10,  11.     Phil.  iii.  9,  10. 

6.  You  also  fetch  your  own  destruction  from  all  the 
providences  and  works  of  God.  When  you  think  of 
his  eternal  fore-knowledge  and  decrees,  it  is  to  harden 
you  in  your  sin,  or  possess  your  minds  with  quarrelling 
thoughts,  as  if  his  decrees  might  spare  you  the  labour 
of  repentance  and  a  holy  life,  or  else  were  the  cause  of 
sin  and  death.  If  he  afflict  you,  you  repine ;  if  he 
prosper  you,  you  the  more  forget  him,  and  are  the 
more  backward  to  the  thoughts  of  the  life  to  come.  If 
the  wicked  prosper,  you  forget  the  end  that  will  set  all 
reckonings  straight,  and  are  ready  to  think  it  is  as  good 
to  be  wicked  as  godly  *,  and  thus  you  draw  your  death 
from  all. 

12 


134  A  CALL    TO 

7.  And  the  like  you  do  from  all  the  creatures  and 
mercies  of  God  to  you.  He  giveth  them  to  you  as  the 
tokens  of  his  love  and  furniture  for  his  service,  and 
you  turn  them  against  him,  to  the  pleasing  of  your 
flesh.  You  eat  and  drink  to  please  your  appetite,  and 
not  for  the  glory  of  God,  and  to  enable  you  to  perform 
his  work.  Your  clothes  you  abuse  to  pride  ;  your 
riches  draw  your  hearts  from  heaven,  Phil.  iii.  18  ;  your 
honours  and  applause  piifFyou  up;  if  you  have  health 
and  strength,  it  makes  you  more  secure,  and  forget 
your  end.  Yea,  other  men's  mercies  are  abused  by 
you  to  your  hurt.  If  you  see  their  honours  and  dig- 
nity, you  are  provoked  to  envy  them  ;  if  you  see  their 
riches,  you  are  ready  to  covet  them;  if  you  look  upon 
beauty,  you  are  stirred  up  to  lusi ;  and  it  is  well  if 
godliness  be  not  an  eye-sore  to  you. 

8.  The  very  gifts  that  God  bestovveth  on  you,  and 
the  ordinances  of  grace  which  he  hath  instituted  for 
his  church,  you  turn  to  sin.  If  you  have  better  parts 
than  others,  you  grow  proud  and  self-conceited  ;  if 
you  have  but  common  gifts,  you  take  them  for  special 
grace.  You  take  the  bare  hearing  of  your  duty  lor  so 
good  a  work,  as  if  it  would  excuse  you  for  not  obeying 
it.  Your  prayers  are  turned  into  sin,  because  you  "  re- 
gard iniquity  in  your  hearts,"  Ps.  Ixvi.  18.  and  depart 
not  from  iniquity  when  you  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  2  Tim.  ii.  19.  Your  "  prayers  are  abominable, 
because  you  turn  away  your  ear  from  hearing  the  law," 
Prov.  xxviii.  9,  and  are  more  ready  to  offer  the  sacri^ 
fice  of  fools,  thinking  you  do  God  some  special  service, 
than  to  hear  his  word  and  obey  it.     Eccles.  v.  1. 

9.  Yea,  the  persons  that  you  converse  with,  and  all 
their  actions,  you  make  the  occasions  of  your  sin  and 
destruction  ;  if  they  live  in  the  fear  of  God,  you  hate 
them.  If  they  live  ungodly,  you  imitate  them;  if  the 
wicked  are  many,  you  think  you  may  the  more  boldly 
follow  them;  if  the  godly  be  few,  you  are  the  more 
emboldened  to  despise  them.  If  they  walk  exactly,  you 
think  they  are  too  precise ;  if  one  of  them  fall  in  a  par- 
ticular temptation,  you  stumble  and  turn  away  from 
holiness,  because  that  others  are  imperfectly  holy ;  as 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  135 

if  you  were  warranted  to  break  your  necks,  because 
some  others  have  by  their  heedlessness  strained  a  sinew, 
or  put  out  a  bone.  If  a  hypocrite  discover  himself,  you 
say  '  They  are  all  alike,'  and  think  yourselves  as  honest 
as  the  best.  A  professor  can  scarce  slip  into  any 
miscarriage,  but  because  he  cuts  his  finger,  you  think 
you  may  boldly  cut  your  throats.  If  ministers  deal 
plainly  with  you,  you  say  they  rail.  If  they  speak  gently 
or  coldly,  you  either  sleep  under  them,  or  are  little 
more  affected  than  the  seats  you  sit  upon.  If  any 
errors  creep  into  the  church,  some  greedily  en- 
tertain them,  and  others  reproach  the  Christian  doc- 
trine for  them,  which  is  most  against  them.  And  if  we 
would  draw  you  from  any  ancient  rooted  error,  which 
can  but  plead  two,  or  three,  or  six,  or  seven  hundred 
years'  custom,  you  are  as  much  offended  with  a  motion 
for  reformation  as  if  you  were  to  lose  your  life  by  it, 
and  hold  fast  old  errors,  while  you  cry  out  against  new 
ones.  Scarce  a  difference  can  arise  among  the  minis- 
ters of  the  gospel,  but  you  will  fetch  your  own  death 
from  it;  and  you  will  not  hear  or  at  least  not  obey,  the 
unquestionable  doctrine  ol'any  of  those  that  agree  not 
with  your  conceits.  One  will  not  hear  a  minister,  be- 
cause he  saith  the  Lord's  prayer ;  and  another  will 
not  hear  him  because  he  doth  not  use  it.  One  will 
not  hear  tfiem  that  are  for  episcopacy ;  and  another 
will  not  hear  them  that  are  against  it.  And  thus  I 
might  show  it  you  in  many  other  cases,  how  you  turn 
all  that  comes  near  you  to  your  own  destruction  ;  so 
clear  is  it  that  the  ungodly  are  self-destroyers,  and  that 
their  perdition  is  of  themselves, 

Methinks  now,  upon  the  consideration  of  what  is 
said,  and  the  review  of  your  own  ways,  you  should  be- 
think you  what  you  have  done,  and  be  ashamed  and 
deeply  humbled  to  remember  it.  If  you  be  not,  I  pray 
you  consider  these  following  truths  : — 

1.  To  be  your  own  destroyers,  is  to  sin  against  the 
deepest  principle  in  your  natures,  even  the  principle  of 
self-preservation.  Every  thing  naturally  desireth  or  in- 
clineth  to  its  own  felicity,  welfare,  or  perfection  ;  and 
will  you  set  yourselves  to  your  own  destruction? 


136  A    CAI.L    TO 

When  you  are  commanded  to  love  your  neighbours  as 
yourselves,  it  is  supposed  that  you  naturally  love  your- 
selves ;  but  if  you  love  your  neighbours  no  better  than 
yourselves,  it  seems  you  would  have  all  the  world  to  be 
damned. 

2.  How  extremely  do  you  cross  your  own  intentions ! 
I  know  you  intend  not  your  own  damnation,  even  when 
you  are  procuring  it;  you  think  you  are  but  doing 
good  to  yourselves,  by  gratifying  the  desires  of  your 
flesh.  But,  alas,  it  is  but  as  a  draught  of  cold  water  in 
a  burning  fever,  or  as  the  scratching  of  an  itching 
wild-fire,  which  increaseth  the  disease  and  pain.  If 
indeed  you  would  have  pleasure,  profit,  or  honour,  seek 
them  where  they  are  to  be  found,  and  do  not  hunt  after 
them  in  the  way  to  hell. 

3.  What  pity  is  it  that  you  should  do  that  against 
yourselves  which  none  else  on  earth  or  in  hell  can  do ! 
If  all  the  world  were  combined  against  you,  or  all  the 
devils  in  hell  were  combined  against  you,  they  could 
not  destroy  you  without  yourselves,  nor  make  you  sin 
but  by  your  own  consent ;  and  will  you  do  that  against 
yourselves  which  no  one  else  can  do  ?  You  have  hate- 
ful thoughts  of  the  devil,  because  he  is  your  enemy,  and 
endeavoureth  your  destruction  ;  and  will  you  be  worse 
than  devils  to  yourselves  ?  Why,  thus  it  is  with  you, 
if  you  had  hearts  to  understand  it;  when  you  run  into 
sin,  and  run  from  godliness,  and  refuse  to  turn  at  the 
call  of  God,  you  do  more  against  your  own  souls  than 
men  or  devils  could  do  besides ;  and  if  you  should  set 
yourselves  and  bend  your  wits  to  do  yourselves  the 
greatest  mischief,  you  could  not  devise  to  do  a  greater. 

4.  You  are  false  to  the  trust  that  God  hath  reposed 
in  you.  He  hath  much  intrusted  you  with  your  own 
salvation  ;  and  will  you  betray  your  trust  ?  He  hath 
set  you,  with  all  diligence,  to  keep  your  hearts  ;  and  is 
this  the  keeping  of  them.     Prov.  iv.  23. 

5.  You  do  even  forbid  all  others  to  pity  you,  when 
you  will  have  no  pity  on  yourselves.  If  you  cry  to  God 
in  the  day  of  your  calamity,  for  mercy,  mercy — what 
can  you  expect,  but  that  he  should  thrust  you  aAvay, 
and  say,  '  Nay,  thou  wouldst  not  have  mercy  on  thy- 


THE   UNCONVERTED.  ]37 

self;  who  brought  this  upon  thee  but  thy  own  wilful- 
ness?' And  if  your  brethren  see  you  everlastingly  in 
misery,  how  shall  they  pity  you  that  were  your  own 
destroyers,  and  would  not  be  dissuaded  ? 

6.  It  will  everlastingly  make  you  your  own  tormen- 
tors in  hell,  to  think  that  you  brought  yourselves  wil- 
fully to  that  misery.  O  whai  a  piercing  thought  it  will 
be  for  ever  to  think  with  yourselves  that  this  was  your 
own  doing !  that  you  were  warned  of  this  day,  and 
warned  again,  but  it  would  not  do  ;  that  you  wilfully 
sinned,  and  wilfully  turned  away  from  God  !  that  you 
had  time  as  well  as  others,  but  you  abused  it ;  you  had 
teachers  as  well  as  others,  but  you  refused  their  in- 
struction ;  you  had  holy  examples,  but  you  did  not 
imitate  them;  you  were  offered  Christ,  and  grace,^ 
and  glory,  as  well  as  others,  but  you  had  more  mind  of 
your  fleshly  pleasures !  you  had  a  price  in  your  hands, 
but  you  had  not  a  heart  to  lay  it  out.  Prov.  xvii.  16. 
Can  it  fail  to  torment  you  to  think  of  this  your  present 
folly  ?  O  that  your  eyes  were  open  to^  see  what 
you  have  done  in  the  wilful  wronging  of  your  own 
souls !  and  that  you  better  understood  these  words  of 
God,  Prov.  viii.  33 — 36.  "  Hear  instruction  and  be 
wise,  and  refuse  it  not.  Blessed  is  the  man  that  hear- 
eth  me,  watching  daily  at  my  gates,  waiting  at  the 
posts  of  my  doors  :  for  whoso  findeth  me  findeth  life, 
and  shall  obtain  favour  of  the  Lord.  But  he  that  sin- 
ncth  against  me,  wrongeth  his  own  soul.  All  they  that 
hate  me  love  death." 

And  now  I  am  come  to  the  conclusion  of  this  work, 
my  heart  is  troubled  to  think  how  I  shall  leave  you,  lest 
after  this  the  flesh  should  still  deceive  you,  and  the 
world  and  the  devil  should  keep  you  asleep,  and  I  should 
leave  you  as  I  found  you,  till  you  awake  in  hell. 
Though  in  care  of  your  poor  souls,  I  am  afraid  of 
this,  as  knowing  the  obstinacy  of  a  carnal  heart ;  yet  I 
can  say  with  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  xvii.  16.  "I  have 
not  desired  the  woful  day,  thou  Lord  knowest."  I  have 
not  with  James  and  John  desired  that  "  fire  might 
come  from  heaven"  to  consume  them  that  refused  Jesus 
Christ.  Luke  ix.  54.    But  it  is  the  preventing  of  the 

12* 


133  A   CALL    TO 

eternal  fire  that  I  have  been  all  this  while  endeavour- 
ing :  and  O  that  it  had  been  a  needless  work!  That 
God  and  conscience  might  have  been  as  willing  to  spare 
me  this  labour  as  some  of  you  could  have  been.  Dear 
friends,  I  am  so  loth  that  you  should  lie  in  everlasting 
fire,  and  be  shut  out  of  heaven,  if  it  be  possible  to  pre- 
vent it,  that  I  shall  once  more  ask  you,  what  do  you 
now  resolve  ?  Will  you  turn  or  die  ?  I  look  upon  you 
as  a  physician  on  his  patient,  in  a  dangerous  disease, 
that  saith  to  him,  '  Though  you  are  far  gone,  take  but 
this  medicine,  and  forbear  but  those  few  things  that  are 
hurtful  to  you,  and  I  dare  warrant  your  life;  but  if  you 
will  not  do  this,  you  are  but  a  dead  man.'  What 
would  you  think  of  such  a  man,  if  the  physician,  and 
all  the  friends  he  hath,  cannot  persuade  him  to  take 
one  medicine  to  save  his  life,  or  to  forbear  one  or  two 
poisonous  things  that  would  kill  him  ?  This  is  your 
case.  As  far  as  you  are  gone  in  sin,  do  but  now  turn 
and  come  to  Christ,  and  take  his  remedies,  and  your 
souls  shall  live.  Cast  up  your  deadly  sins  by  repent- 
ance, and  return  not  to  the  poisonous  vomit  any  more, 
and  you  shall  do  well.  But  yet,  if  it  were  your  bodies 
that  we  had  to  deal  with,  we  might  partly  know  what 
to  do  for  you.  Though  you  would  not  consent,  yet 
you  might  be  held  or  bound  while  the  medicine  were 
poured  down  your  throats,  and  hurtful  things  might  be 
kept  from  you.  But  about  your  souls  it  cannot  be  so; 
we  cannot  convert  you  against  your  wills.  There  is  no 
carrying  madmen  to  heaven  in  fetters.  You  may  be 
condemned  against  your  wills,  because  you  sinned  with 
your  wills  ;  but  you  cannot  be  saved  against  your 
wills.  The  wisdom  of  God  has  thought  meet  to  lay 
men's  salvation  or  destruction  exceedingly  much  upon 
the  choice  of  their  own  will,  that  no  man  shall  come 
to  heaven  that  chose  not  the  way  to  heaven  ;  and  no 
man  shall  come  to  hell,  but  shall  be  forced  to  say,  'I 
have  the  thing  I  chose  ;  my  own  will  did  bring  me 
hither.'  Now,  if  I  could  but  get  you  to  be  wilhng,  to 
be  thoroughly,  and  resolvedly,  and  habitually  willing, 
the  work  were  more  than  half  done.  And  alas  I  must 
we  lose  our  friends,  and  must  they  lose  their  God,  their 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  139 

happiness,  their  souls,  for  want  of  this  ?  O  God  forbid  I 
It  is  a  strange  thing  to  me  that  men  are  so  inhuman 
and  stupid  in  the  greatest  matters,  who  in  lesser  things 
are  civil  and  courteous,  and  good  neighbours.  For 
aught  I  know,  I  have  the  love  of  all,  or  almost  all  my 
neighbours,  so  far,  that  if  I  should  send  to  any  man  in 
the  town,  or  parish,  or  country,  and  request  a  reason- 
able courtesy  of  them,  they  would  grant  it  me  ;  and 
yet  when  I  come  to  request  of  them  the  greatest  mat- 
ter in  the  world,  for  themselves,  and  not  for  me,  I  can 
have  nothing  of  many  of  them  but  a  patient  hearing. 
I  know  not  whether  people  think  a  man  in  the  pulpit 
is  in  good  earnest  or  not,  and  means  as  he  speaks  ;  for 
I  think  I  have  few  neighbours,  but,  if  I  were  sitting 
familiarly  with  them,  and  telling  them  what  I  have 
seen  and  done,  or  known  in  the  world,  they  themselves 
shall  see  and  know  in  the  world  to  come,  they  would 
believe  me,  and  regard  what  I  say ;  but  when  I  tell 
them,  from  the  infallible  word  of  God,  what  they  them- 
selves shall  see  and  know  in  the  world  to  come,  they 
show  by  their  lives,  that  they  do  either  not  believe  it  or 
not  much  regard  it.  If  I  met  any  one  of  them  on  the 
way,  and  told  them  yonder  is  a  coal-pit,  or  there  is  a 
quicksand,  or  there  are  thieves  lying  in  wait  for  you,  I 
could  persuade  them  to  turn  by ;  but  when  I  tell  them 
that  Satan  lieth  in  wait  for  them,  and  that  sin  is  poison 
to  them,  and  that  hell  is  not  a  matter  to  be  jested  with, 
they  go  on  as  if  they  did  not  hear  me.  Truly,  neigh- 
bours, I  am  in  as  good  earnest  with  you  in  the  pulpit 
as  I  am  in  my  familiar  discourse ;  and  if  ever  you  will 
regard  me,  I  beseech  you  let  it  be  here.  I  think  there 
is  not  a  man  of  you  all,  but,  if  my  own  soul  lie  at  your 
wills,  you  would  be  willing  to  save  it,  though  I  cannot 
promise  that  you  would  leave  your  sins  for  it.  Tell 
me,  thou  drunkard,  art  thou  so  cruel  to  me,  that  thou 
wouldst  not  forbear  a  few  cups  of  drink,  if  thou  knew- 
est  it  would  save  my  soul  from  hell  ?  Hadst  thou  ra- 
ther that  I  did  burn  there  for  ever  than  thou  shouldst 
live  soberly  as  other  men  do  ?  If  so,  may  I  not  say, 
thou  art  an  unmerciful  monster,  and  not  a  man  ?  If 
I  came  hungry  or  naked  to  one  of  your  doors,  would 


140  A   CALL    TO 

you  not  part  with  more  than  a  cup  of  drink  to  relieve 
me  ?  I  am  confident  you  would.  If  it  were  to  save 
my  life,  I  know  you  would  some  of  you  hazard  your 
own ;  and  yet  will  you  not  he  entreated  to  part  with 
your  sensual  pleasures  for  your  own  salvation  ? 
Wouldst  thou  forheara  hundred  cups  of  drink,  to  save 
my  life,  if  it  were  in  thy  power,  and  wilt  thou  not  do 
it  to  save  thy  own  soul  ?  I  profess  to  you,  sirs,  1  am 
as  hearty  a  beggar  with  you  this  day  for  the  saving 
of  your  own  souls,  as  I  would  be  for  my  own  supply, 
if  I  were  forced  to  come  begging  to  your  doors ;  and 
therefore  if  you  would  hear  me  then,  hear  me  now. 
If  you  would  pity  me  then,  be  entreated  now  to  pity 
yourselves.  I  do  again  beseech  you,  as  if  it  were  on 
my  bended  knees,  that  you  would  hearken  to  your 
Redeemer,  and  turn,  that  you  may  live.  All  you  that 
have  lived  in  ignorance,  and  carelessness,  and  pre- 
sumption to  this  day  ;  all  you  that  have  been  drowned 
in  the  cares  of  the  world,  and  have  no  mind  of  God, 
and  eternal  glory;  all  you  that  are  enslaved  to  your 
fleshly  desires  of  meats  and  drinks,  sports  and  lusts  ; 
and  all  you  that  know  not  the  necessity  of  holiness, 
and  never  were  acquainted  with  the  sanctifying  work 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  upon  your  souls  ;  that  never  em- 
braced your  blessed  Redeemer  by  a  lively  faith,  and 
with  admiring  and  thankful  apprehensions  of  his  love  ; 
and  that  never  felt  a  higher  estimation  of  God  and 
heaven,  and  heartier  love  to  them  than  to  your  fleshly 
prosperity,  and  the  things  below, — 1  earnestly  beseech 
you,  not  only  for  my  sake,  but  for  the  Lord's  sake,  and 
for  your  soul's  sake,  that  you  go  not  one  day  longer  in 
your  former  condition,  but  look  about  you,  and  cry  to 
God  for  converting  grace,  that  you  may  be  made  new 
creatures,  and  may  escape  the  plagues  that  are  a  httle 
before  you.  And  if  ever  you  will  do  any  thing  for  me, 
grant  me  this  request,  to  turn  from  your  evil  ways  and 
live.  Deny  me  any  thing  that  ever  I  shall  ask  you  for 
myself,  if  you  will  but  grant  me  this  ;  and  if  you  deny 
me  this,  I  care  not  for  any  thing  else  that  you  would 
grant  me.  Nay,  as  ever  j'^ou  will  do  any  thing  at  the 
request  of  the  Lord  that  made  you  and  redeemed  you, 


THE    UNCOXVERTED.  141 

deny  him  not  this  ;  for  if  you  deny  him  this,  he  cares 
for  nothing  that  you  shall  grant  him.  As  ever  you 
would  have  him  hear  your  prayers,  and  grant  your  re- 
quests, and  do  for  you  at  the  hour  of  death  and  day  of 
judgment,  or  in  any  of  your  extremities,  deny  not  his 
request  now  in  the  day  of  your  prosperity.  O,  sirs, 
believe  it,  death  and  judgment,  and  heaven  and  hell, 
are  other  matters  when  you  come  near  them,  than 
they  seem  to  carnal  eyes  afar  off:  then  you  would 
hear  such  a  message  as  I  bring  you  with  more  awak- 
ened regardful  hearts. 

Well,  though  I  cannot  hope  so  well  of  all,  I  will 
hope  that  some  of  you  are  by  this  time  purposing  to 
turn  and  live  ;  and  that  you  are  ready  to  ask  me,  as  the 
Jews  did  Peter,  (Acts  ii.  37.)  when  they  were  pricked 
in  their  hearts,  and  said,  "  Men  and  brethren,  what 
shall  we  do  ?"  How  might  we  come  to  be  truly  convert- 
ed ?  We  are  willing,  if  we  did  but  know  our  duty. 
God  forbid  that  we  should  choose  destruction,  by  re- 
fusing conversion  as  hitherto  we  have  done. 

If  these  be  the  thoughts  and  purposes  of  your  hearts, 
I  say  of  you  as  God  did  of  a  promising  people,  Deut. 
V.  28,  29.  "  They  have  well  said  all  that  they  have 
spoken :  O  that  there  was  such  a  heart  in  them,  that 
they  would  fear  me,  and  keep  all  my  commandments 
always !"  Your  purposes  are  good :  O  that  there 
were  but  a  heart  in  you  to  perform  these  purposes ! 
And  in  hope  hereof  I  shall  gladly  give  you  direction 
what  to  do,  and  that  but  briefly,  that  you  may  the 
easier  remember  it  for  your  practice. 

Direction  1. — If  you  would  be  converted  and  saved, 
labour  to  understand  the  necessity  and  true  nature  of 
conversion  :  for  what,, and  from  what,  and  to  what, 
and  by  what  it  is  that  you  must  turn. 

Consider  in  what  a  lamentable  condition  you  are  till 
the  hour  of  your  conversion,  that  you  may  see  it  is  not 
a  state  to  be  rested  in.  You  are  under  the  guilt  of  all 
the  sins  that  ever  you  committed,  and  under  the  wrath 
of  God  and  the  curse  of  his  law :  you  are  bond  slaves 
to  the  devil,  and  daily  employed  in  his  work  against 


142  A   CALL   TO 

the  Lord,  yourselves,  and  others  .•  you  are  spiritually 
dead  and  deformed,  as  being  devoid  of  the  holy  life, 
and  nature,  and  image  of  the  Lord.  You  are  unfit 
for  any  holy  work,  and  do  nothing  that  is  truly  pleas 
ing  to  God.  You  are  without  any  promise  or  assu- 
rance of  his  protection,  and  live  in  continual  danger  of 
his  justice,  not  knowing  what  hour  you  may  be  snatch- 
ed away  to  hell,  and  most  certain  to  be  lost  if  you  die 
in  that  condition  ;  and  nothing  short  of  conversion  can 
prevent  it.  Whatever  civilities  or  amendments  are 
short  of  true  conversion,  will  never  procure  the  saving 
of  your  souls.  Keep  the  true  sense  of  this  natural 
misery,  and  so  of  the  necessity  of  conversion  on  your 
hearts. 

And  then  you  must  understand  what  it  is  to  be  con- 
verted ;  it  is  to  have  a  new  heart  or  disposition,  and  a 
new  conversation. 

Quest.  I.  For  what  must  we  turn  ? 

*dnsw.  For  these  ends  following,  which  you  may 
attain :  I.  You  shall  immediately  be  made  living  mem- 
bers of  Christ,  and  have  an  interest  in  him,  and  be  re- 
newed after  the  image  of  God,  and  be  adorned  with  all 
his  graces,  and  quickened  with  a  new  and  heavenly 
life,  and  saved  from  the  tyranny  of  Satan,  and  the  do- 
minicm  of  sin,  and  be  justified  by  the  curse  of  the  law, 
and  have  the  pardon  of  all  the  sins  of  your  whole  lives, 
and  be  accepted  of  God,  and  made  his  sons,  and  have 
liberty  with  boldness  to  call  him  Father,  and  go  to  him 
by  prayer  in  all  your  needs,  with  a  promise  of  accep- 
tance ;  you  shall  have  the  Holy  Ghost  to  dwell  in  you, 
to  sanctify  and  guide  you  ;  you  shall  have  part  in 
the  brotherhood,  communion,  and  prayers  of  the 
saints  ;  you  shall  be  fitted  for  God's  service,  and  be 
freed  from  the  dominion  of  sin,  and  be  useful  and  a 
blessing  to  the  place  where  you  live  ;  and  shall  have 
the  promise  of  this  life  and  that  which  is  to  come  ;  you 
shall  want  nothing  that  is  truly  good  for  you,  and  your 
necessary  afflictions  you  will  be  enabled  to  bear  ;  you 
may  have  some  taste  of  communion  with  God  in  the 
Spirit,  especially  in  all  holy  ordinances,  where  God 
prepareth  a  feast  for  your  souls ;  you  shall  be  heirs  oT 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  143 

heaven  while  you  live  on  earth,  and  may  foresee  by 
faith  the  everlasting  glory,  and  so  may  live  and  die  in 
peace ;  and  you  shall  never  be  so  low  but  your  happi- 
ness will  be  incomparably  greater  than  your  misery. 

How  precious  is  every  one  of  these  blessings,  which 
I  do  but  briefly  name,  and  which  in  this  life  you  may 


receive 


And  then,  2.  At  death  your  souls  shall  go  to  Christ, 
and  at  the  day  of  judgment  both  soul  and  body  shall 
be  glorified  and  justified,  and  enter  into  your  Master's 
joy,  where  your  happiness  will  consist  in  these  par- 
ticulars : 

1.  You  shall  be  perfected  yourselves;  your  mortal 
bodies  shall  be  made  immortal,  and  the  corruptible 
shall  put  on  incorruption ;  you  shall  no  more  be  hun- 
gry, or  thirsty,  or  weary,  or  sick,  nor  shall  you  need 
to  fear  either  shame,  or  sorrow,  or  death,  or  hell ;  your 
souls  shall  be  perfectly  freed  from  sin,  and  perfectly 
fitted  for  the  knowledge,  and  love,  and  praises  of  the 
Lord. 

2.  Your  employment  shall  be  to  behold  your  glorified 
Redeemer,  with  all  your  holy  fellow  citizens  of  heaven, 
and  to  see  the  glory  of  the  most  blessed  God,  and  to 
love  him  perfectly,  and  be  beloved  by  him,  and  to 
praise  him  everlastingly. 

3.  Your  glory  will  contribute  to  the  glory  of  the 
New  Jerusalem,  the  city  of  the  living  God  ;  which  is 
more  than  to  have  a  private  felicity  to  yourselves. 

4.  Your  glory  will  contribute  to  the  glorifying  of 
your  Redeemer,  who  will  everlastingly  be  magnified 
and  pleased  in  that  your  are  the  travail  of  his  soul ;  and 
this  is  more  than  the  glorifying  of  yourselves. 

5.  And  the  eternal  Majesty,  the  living  God,  will  be 
glorified  in  your  glory,  both  as  he  is  magnified  by  your 
praises,  and  as  he  communicateth  of  his  glory  and 
goodness  to  you,  and  as  he  is  pleased  in  you,  and  in 
the  accomplishment  of  his  glorious  work,  in  the  glory 
of  the  New  Jerusalem,  and  of  his  Son. 

All  this  the  poorest  beggar  of  you  that  is  converted, 
shall  certainly  and  endlessly  enjoy. 
II.  You  see  for  what  you  must  turn :  next  you  must 


144  A   CALL   TO 

understand  from  what  you  must  turn ;  and  this  i«,  in 
a  word,  from  your  carnal  self,  which  is  the  end  of  all 
the  unconverted  : — from  the  flesh  that  would  be  pleased 
before  God,  and  would  still  be  enticing  you ; — from  the 
world,  that  is  the  bait;  and  from  the  devil,  that  is  the 
angler  for  souls,  and  the  deceiver.  And  so  from  all 
known  and  wilful  sins. 

III.  Next  you  must  know  to  what  end  you  must 
turn ;  and  that  is,  to  God  as  your  end ;  to  Christ  as 
the  way  to  the  Father  ;  to  holiness  as  the  way  ap- 
pointed you  by  Christ ;  and  to  the  use  af  all  the  helps 
and  means  of  grace  afforded  you  by  the  Lord. 

IV.  Lastly,  You  must  know  by  what  you  must  turn  ; 
and  that  is  by  Christ,  as  the  only  Redeemer  and  In- 
tercessor ;  and  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  the  Sanctifier ; 
and  by  the  word,  as  his  instrument  or  means  ;  and  by 
faith  and  repentance,  as  the  means  and  duties  on 
your  part  to  be  performed.     All  this  is  of  necessity. 

Direction  II. — If  you  will  be  converted  and  saved, 
"be  much  in  serious  secret  consideration.  Inconsider- 
ateness  undoes  the  Avorld.  Withdraw  yourselves  oft 
into  retired  secrecy,  and  there  bethink  you  of  the  end 
why  you  were  made,  of  the  hfe  you  have  lived,  of  the 
time  you  have  lost,  the  sins  you  have  committed  ;  of 
the  love  and  sufferings,  and  fulness  of  Christ ;  of  the 
danger  you  are  in ;  of  the  nearness  of  death  and 
judgment ;  of  the  certainty  and  excellency  of  the  joys 
of  heaven,  and  of  the  certainty  and  terror  of  the  tor- 
ments of  hell,  and  the  eternity  of  both ;  and  of  the 
necessity  of  conversion  and  a  holy  life.  Absorb  your 
hearts  in  such  considerations  as  these. 

Direction  III. — If  you  will  be  converted  and  saved, 
attend  upon  the  word  of  God,  which  is  the  ordinary 
means.  Read  the  Scripture,  or  hear  it  read,  and  other 
holy  writings  that  do  apply  it ;  constantly  attend  on 
the  public  preaching  of  the  word.  As  God  will  light 
the  world  by  the  sun,  and  not  by  himself  without  it,  sa 
will  he  convert  and  save  men  by  his  ministers,  who  are 
the  lights  of  the  world.  Acts  xxvi.  17,  18.  Matt.  v.  14. 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  145 

When  he  had  miraculously  humbled  Paul,  he  sent  him 
to  Ananias,  Acts  ix.  10 ;  and  when  he  had  sent  an 
angel  to  Cornelius,  it  was  but  to  bid  him  send  for  Peter, 
who  must  tell  him  what  to  believe  and  do. 

Direction  IV. — Betake  yourselves  to  God  in  a 
course  of  earnest  constant  prayer.  Confess  and  la- 
ment your  former  lives,  and  beg  his  grace  to  illuminate 
and  convert  you.  Beseech  him  to  pardon  what  is 
past,  and  to  give  you  his  Spirit,  and  change  your 
hearts  and  lives,  and  lead  you  in  his  ways,  and  save 
you  from  temptation.  Pursue  this  work  daily,  and  be 
not  weary  of  it. 

Direction  V. — Presently  give  over  your  known  and 
wilful  sins.  Make  a  stand,  and  go  that  way  no  farther. 
Be  drunk  no  more,  but  avoid  the  very  occasion  of  it. 
Cast  away  your  lusts  and  sinful  pleasures  with  detes- 
tation. Curse,  and  swear,  and  rail  no  more ;  and  if 
you  have  wronged  any,  restore,  as  Zaccheus  did ;  if 
you  will  commit  again  your  old  sins,  what  blessing  can 
you  expect  on  the  means  for  conversion .'' 

Direction  VI. — Presently,  if  possible,  change  your 
company,  if  it  hath  hitherto  been  bad  ;  not  by  forsak- 
ing your  necessary  relations,  but  your  unnecessary  sin- 
ful companions ;  and  join  yourselves  with  those  that 
fear  the  Lord,  and  inquire  of  them  the  way  to  heaven. 
Acts  ix.  19,  26.     Psalm  xv.  4. 

Direction  VII. — Deliver  up  yourselves  to  the  Lord 
Jesus,  as  the  physician  of  your  souls,  that  he  may 
pardon  you  by  his  blood,  and  sanctify  you  by  his 
Spirit,  by  his  word  and  ministers,  the  instruments  of 
the  Spirit.  He  is  the  way,  Ihe  Iruth,  and  the  life  ;  there 
is  no  coming  to  the  Father  but  by  him.  John  xiv.  6. 
Nor  is  there  any  other  name  under  heaven,  by  which 
you  can  be  saved.  Acts  iv.  12.  Study,  therefore,  his 
person  and  natures,  and  what  he  hath  done  for  you, 
and  what  he  is  to  you,  amd  what  he  will  be,  and  how  he 
is  fitted  to  the  full  supply  of  all  your  necessities. 

13 


146  A    CALL    TO 

Direction  VIII. — If  you  mean  indeed  to  turn  and 
live,  do  it  speedily,  without  delay.  If  you  be  not  wil- 
ling to  turn  to-day,  \o\i  are  not  willing  to  do  it  at  all. 
Remember,  you  are  all  this  while  in  your  blood,  under 
the  guilt  of  many  thousand  sins,  and  under  God's 
wrath,  and  you  stand  at  the  very  brink  of  hell ;  there 
is  but  a  step  between  you  and  death  :  and  this  is  not  a 
case  for  a  man  that  is  well  in  his  wits  to  be  quiet  in. 
Up  therefore  presently,  and  fly  as  for  your  lives,  as  you 
would  be  gone  out  of  your  house  if  it  were  all  on  fire 
over  your  head.  O,  if  you  did  but  know  in  what  con- 
tinual danger  you  live,  and  what  daily  unspeakable  loss 
you  sustain,  and  what  a  safer  and  sweeter  life  you 
might  hve,  you  would  not  stand  trifling,  but  presently 
turn.  Multitudes  miscarry  that  wilfully  delay,  when 
they  are  convinced  that  it  must  be  done.  Your  lives 
are  short  and  uncertain  ;  and  what  a  case  are  you  in 
if  you  die  before  you  thoroughly  turn !  Ye  have  staid 
too  long  already,  and  wronged  God  too  long.  Sin 
getteth  strength  while  you  delay.  Your  conversion 
will  grow  more  hard  and  doubtful.  You  have  much 
to  do,  and  therefore  put  not  all  off  to  the  last,  lest  God 
forsake  you,  and  give  you  up  to  yourselves,  and  then 
you  are  undone  for  ever. 

Direction  IX. — If  you  will  turn  and  live,  do  it  un- 
reservedly, absolutely,  and  universally.  Think  not  to 
capitulate  with  Christ,  and  divide  your  heart  between 
him  and  the  world  ;  and  to  part  with  some  sins,  and 
keep  the  rest ;  and  to  let  that  go  which  your  flesh  can 
spare.  This  is  but  self-deluding;  you  must  in  heart 
and  resolution  forsake  all  that  you  have,  or  else  you 
cannot  be  his  disciples.  Luke  xiv.  26,  33.  If  you  will 
not  take  God  and  heaven  for  your  portion,  and  lay  all 
below  at  the  feet  of  Christ,  but  you  must  needs  also 
have  your  good  things  here,  and  have  an  earthly  por- 
tion, and  God  and  glory  are  not  enough  for  you, — it  is 
vain  to  dream  of  salvation  on  these  terms  ;  for  it  will 
not  be.  If  you  seem  never  so  religious,  if  yet  it  be  but 
a  carnal  righteousness,  and  if  the  flesh's  prosperity,  or 
pleasure,  or  safety,  be  still  excepted  in  your  devatedness 


THE    UNCONVERTED.  147 

to  God,  this  is  as  certain  a  way  to  death  as  open  pro- 
faneness,  though  it  be  more  plausible. 

Direction  X. — If  you  will  turn  and  live,  do  it  re- 
solvedly, and  stand  not  still  deliberating,  as  if  it  were  a 
doubtful  case.  Stand  not  wavering,  as  if  you  were 
uncertain  whether  God  or  the  flesh  be  the  better  mas- 
ter, or  whether  sin  or  holiness  be  the  better  way,  or 
whether  heaven  or  hell  be  the  better  end.  But  away 
with  your  former  lusts,  and  presently,  habitually,  fix- 
edly resolve.  Be  not  one  day  of  one  mind,  and  the 
next  day  of  another ;  but  be  at  a  point  with  all  the 
world,  and  resolvedly  give  up  yourselves  and  all  you 
have  to  God.  Now,  while  you  are  reading,  or  hearino' 
this,  resolve  ;  before  you  sleep  another  night,  resolve  ; 
before  you  stir  from  the  place,  resolve  ;  before  Satan 
have  time  to  take  you  off,  resolve.  You  never  turn 
indeed  till  you  do  resolve,  and  that  with  a  firm  un- 
chanareable  resolution. 


And  now  I  have  done  my  part  in  this  work,  that  you 
may  turn  to  the  call  of  God,  and  live.  What  willbe- 
come  of  it  I  cannot  tell.  I  have  cast  the  seed  at  God's 
command ;  but  it  is  not  in  my  power  to  give  the  in- 
crease. I  can  go  no  further  with  my  message  ;  I  can- 
not bring  it  to  your  heart,  nor  make  it  work :  I  cannot 
do  your  parts  for  you  to  entertain  it  and  consider  it ; 
nor  can  I  do  God's  part,  by  opening  your  heart  to  en- 
tertain it ;  nor  can  I  show  heaven  or  hell  to  your  sight, 
nor  give  you  new  and  tender  hearts.  If  I  knew  what 
more  to  do  for  your  conversion,  I  hope  I  should  do  it- 

But  O  thou  that  art  the  gracious  Father  of  spirits, 
thou  hast  sworn  thou  delightest  not  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked,  but  rather  that  they  turn  and  live ;  deny  not 
thy  blessing  to  these  persuasions  and  directions,  and 
suffer  not  thine  enemies  to  triumph  in  thy  sight,  and 
the  great  deceiver  of  souls  to  prevail  against  thy  Son, 
thy  Spirit,  and  thy  Word  !  O  pity  poor  unconverted 
sinners,  that  have  no  hearts  to  pity  or  help  themselves' 
Command  the  blind  to  see,  and  the  deaf  to  hear,  ana 


148  A    CALL    TO    THE    UNCONVERTED. 

the  dead  to  live,  and  let  not  sin  and  death  be  able  to  re- 
sist thee.  Awaken  the  secure,  resolve  the  unresolved, 
confirm  the  wavering ;  and  let  the  eyes  of  sinners,  that 
read  these  lines,  be  next  employed  in  weeping  over 
their  sins,  and  bring  them  to  themselves,  and  to  thy 
Son,  before  their  sins  have  brought  them  to  perdition. 
If  thou  say  but  the  word,  these  poor  endeavours  shall 
prosper  to  the  winning  of  many  a  soul  to  their  ever- 
lasting joy,  and  thine  everlasting  glory. — *dmen. 


NOW  OR  NEVER. 


EXTRACTED   FROM 


A  DISCOURSE  OF  REV.  RICHARD  BAXTER. 


ECCLES.  IX.  10. 

Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  thy 
might ;  for  there  is  no  work,  nor  device,  nor  know- 
ledge, nor  wisdom,  in  the  grave,  whither  thou  goest. 

The  mortality  of  man  being  the  principal  subject  of 
Solomon  in  this  chapter,  and  observing  that  wisdom 
and  piety  exempt  not  men  from  death,  he  first  hence 
infers,  that  God's  love  or  hatred  to  one  man  above 
another,  is  not  to  be  gathered  by  his  deaUngs  with 
them  here,  where  all  things  in  the  common  course  of 
providence  come  alike  to  all.  The  common  sin  hath 
introduced  death  as  a  common  punishment,  which 
levels  all,  and  ends  all  the  contrivances,  businesses,  and 
enjoyments  of  this  life,  to  good  and  bad ;  and  discri- 
minating justice  is  not  ordinarily  manifested  here  :  an 
epicure  or  infidel  would  think  Solomon  was  here  plead- 
ing his  unmanly  impious  cause  :  but  it  is  not  the  ces- 
sation of  the  life,  or  operations,  or  enjoyments  of  the 
soul  that  he  is  speaking  of,  as  if  there  were  no  life  to 
come,  or  the  soul  of  man  were  not  immortal ;  but  it  is 
the  cessation  of  all  the  actions,  and  honours,  and  plea- 
sures of  this  life,  which  to  good  or  bad  shall  be  no 
more.  Here  they  have  no  more  reward,  the  memory 
of  them  will  be  here  forgotten.  "  They  have  no  more 
a  portion  for  ever  in  any  thing  that  is  done  under  the 
sun." 

13* 


150  NOW   OR    NEVER. 

From  hence  he  further  infers,  that  the  comforts  of 
Hfe  are  but  short  and  transitory,  and  therefore  that 
what  the  creature  can  afford,  must  be  presently  taken : 
and  as  the  wicked  shall  have  no  more  but  present  plea- 
sures, so  the  faithful  may  take  their  lawful  comforts  in 
the  present  moderate  use  of  the  creatures.  For  if  their 
enjoyment  be  of  right  and  use  to  any,  it  is  to  them ;  and, 
therefore,  though  they  may  not  use  them  to  their  hurt, 
to  the  pampering  of  their  flesh,  and  strengthening  their 
lusts,  and  hindering  spiritual  duties,  benefits,  and  salva- 
tion ;  yet  must  they  "  serve  the  Lord  with  joyfulness, 
and  with  gladness  of  heart,  for  the  abundance  of  all 
things"  which  he  giveth  them. 

Next  he  infers,  from  the  brevity  of  man's  life,  the 
necessity  of  speed  and  diligence  in  his  duty.  And  this 
is  in  the  words  of  my  text;  where  you  have,  1.  The 
duty  commanded.  2.  The  reason  or  motive  to  en- 
force it. 

The  duty  is  in  the  first  part,  "  Whatsoever  thy 
hand  findeth  to  do,"  that  is,  whatever  work  is  assigned 
thee  by  God  to  do  in  this  thy  transitory  life,  "  do  it 
with  thy  might ;"  that  is,  1 .  Speedily,  without  delay. 
2.  Diligently ;  and  not  with  slothfulness,  or  by  halves. 

2.  The  motive  is  in  the  latter  part,  "  For  there  is 
no  work,  nor  device,  nor  knowledge,  nor  wisdom,  in 
the  grave,  whither  thou  goest;"  that  is,  it  mustbenoio 
or  never.  The  grave,  where  thy  work  cannot  be  done, 
will  quickly  end  thy  opportunities.  The  sense  is  ob- 
viously contained  in  these  two  propositions  : — 

Doctrine  1. — "  The  work  of  this  life  cannot  be 
done  when  this  life  is  ended  :  or,  There  is  no  working 
in  the  grave,  to  which  we  are  all  making  haste." 

Doctrine  2. — "  Therefore,  while  we  have  lime,  we 
must  do  our  best :  or  do  the  work  of  this  present  life 
with  vigour  and  diligence." 

1.  It  is  from  an  unquestionable  and  commonly  ac- 
knowledged truth,  that  Solomon  here  urgeth  us  to 
diligence  in  duty ;  and  therefore  to  prove  it  would  be 
but  loss  of  time.  As  there  are  two  worlds  for  man  to 
hve  in,  and  so  two  fives  for  man  to  live,  so  each  of 
these  lives  has  its  peculiar  employment.    This  is  the 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  151 

life  of  preparation:  the  next  is  the  life  of  rewards  or 
punishments.  We  are  now  but  in  the  womb  of  eter- 
nity, and  must  live  hereafter  in  the  open  world.  We 
are  now  but  sent  to  school  to  learn  the  work  we  must 
do  for  ever :  this  is  the  time  of  our  apprenticeship  ;  we 
are  learning  the  trade  that  we  must  live  upon  in  hea- 
ven. We  run  now,  that  we  may  then  receive  the 
crown ;  we  fight  now,  that  we  may  then  triumph  in 
victory.  The  grave  hath  no  work  ;  but  heaven  hath 
work,  and  hell  hath  suffering :  there  is  no  repentance 
unto  life  hereafter ;  but  there  is  repentance  to  torment 
and  to  desperation.  There  is  no  believing  of  a  happi- 
ness unseen  in  order  to  the  obtaining  of  it ;  or  of  a 
misery  unseen  in  order  to  the  escaping  of  it;  nor  be- 
lieving in  a  Saviour  in  order  to  these  ends.  But  there 
is  the  fruition  of  the  happiness  which  was  here  be- 
lieved ;  and  feeling  of  the  misery  that  men  would  not 
believe ;  and  suffering  from  him  as  a  righteous  Judge, 
whom  they  rejected  as  a  merciful  Saviour.  So  that  it 
is  not  all  work  that  ceaseth  at  our  death  ;  but  only  the 
work  of  this  present  life. 

And  indeed  no  reason  can  show  us  the  least  proba- 
bility of  doing  our  work  when  our  time  is  gone,  that 
was  given  us  to  do  it  in.  If  it  can  be  done,  it  must  be, 
1.  By  the  recalling  of  our  time.  2.  By  the  return  of 
life.  3.  Or,  by  opportunity  in  another  life.  But  there 
is  no  hope  of  any  of  these. 

1.  Who  knoweth  not  that  time  cannot  be  recalled.'* 
That  which  once  was,  will  be  no  more.  Yesterday 
will  never  come  again.  To-day  is  passing,  and  will 
not  return.  You  may  work  while  it  is  day  ;  but  when 
you  have  lost  that  day,  it  will  not  return  for  you  to 
work  in.  While  your  candle  burneth,  you  may  make 
use  of  its  light ;  but  when  it  is  done,  it  is  too  late  to  use 
it.  No  force  of  medicine,  no  orator's  elegant  persua- 
sions, no  worldling's  wealth,  no  prince's  power,  can 
call  back  one  day  or  hour  of  time.  If  they  could,  what 
endeavours  would  there  be  used,  when  extremity  hath 
taught  them  to  value  what  they  now  despise !  What 
bargaining  would  there  be  at  last,  if  time  could  be  pur- 
chased for  any  thing  that  man  can  give.     Then  misers 


15"2  NOW    OR    NEVER. 

would  briniT  out  their  wealth,  and  say,  '  All  this  will  I 
give  for  one  day's  time  of  repentance  more.'  And 
lords  and  knights  would  lay  down  their  honours,  and 
say,  '  Take  all,  and  let  us  be  beggars,  if  we  may  have 
but  one  yearof  the  time  that  we  mispent.'  Then  kings 
would  lay  down  their  crowns,  and  say,  '  Let  us  be 
equal  with  the  lowest  subjects,  so  we  may  but  have 
the  time  again  that  we  wasted  in  the  cares  and  plea- 
sures of  the  world.'  Kingdoms  would  then  seem  a 
contemptible  price  for  the  recovery  of  time. 

The  time  that  is  now  idled  and  talked  away ;  the 
time  that  is  now  feasted  and  complimented  away,  that 
is  unnecessarily  sported  and  slept  away ;  that  is  wick- 
edly and  presumptuously  sinned  aw^ay  ;  how  precious 
will  it  one  day  seem  to  all !  How  happy  a  bargain 
would  they  think  they  had  made,  if  at  the  dearest  rates 
they  could  redeem  it  ? 

The  profanest  mariner  falls  a  praying,  when  he  fears 
his  time  is  ai  an  end.  If  importunity  would  then  pre- 
vail, how  eanestly  would  they  pray  for  the  recovery  of 
time  that  formerly  derided  praying !  What  a  liturgy 
would  death  teach  the  tritiing  time-despising  gallants, 
the  idle,  busy,  dreaming,  active,  ambitious,  covetous 
lovers  of  this  world,  if  time  could  be  entreated  to  re- 
ttirn !  How  passionately  then  would  they  pour  out  their 
requests !  '  O  that  we  might  once  see  the  days  of  hope, 
and  means,  and  mercy,  which  once  we  saw,  and  would 
not  see  !  O  that  we  had  those  days  to  spend  in  peni- 
tential tears,  and  prayers,  and  holy  preparations  for 
an  endless  life,  which  we  spent  at  cards,  in  needless 
recreations,  in  idle  talk,  in  humouring  others,  in  the  pleas- 
ing ©four  flesh,  or  in  the  inordinate  cares  and  busi- 
nesses of  the  world  !  O  that  our  youthful  vigour  might 
return !  that  our  years  might  be  renewed !  that  the 
days  we  spent  in  vanity  might  be  recalled  !  that  minis- 
ters might  again  be  sent  to  us  publicly  and  privately, 
with  the  message  of  grace  which  w^e  once  made  light 
ofl  that  the  sun  would  once  more  shine  upon  us  !  and 
that  patience  and  mercy  would  once  more  reassume 
their  work  !' 

If  cries  or  tears,  or  price  or  pains,  would  bring  back 


NOW   OR    NEVER.  153 

lost  abused  time,  how  happy  were  the  now  distracted, 
dreaming,  dead-hearted,  and  impenitent  world  !  If  it 
would  then  serve  their  turn  to  say  to  the  vigilant  be- 
lievers, "  Give  us  of  your  oil,  for  our  lamps  are  gone 
out ;"  or  to  cry,  "  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us,"  when  the 
door  is  shut,  the  foolish  would  be  saved  as  well  as  the 
wise.  But  "  this  is  the  day  of  salvation  !  this  is  the 
accepted  time."  While  it  is  called  to-day,  hearken, 
and  harden  not  your  hearts.  Awake,  thou  that  sleep- 
est,  and  use  the  light  that  is  afforded  thee  by  Christ; 
or  else  the  everlasting  utter  darkness  will  shortly  end 
thy  time  and  hope. 

2.  And  as  time  can  never  be  recalled,  so  life  shall 
never  be  here  restored :  "  If  a  man  die,  shall  he  live 
(here)  again  ?"  All  the  days  of  our  appointed  time  we 
must  therefore  wait,  in  faith  and  diligence,  till  our 
change  shall  come.  One  life  is  appointed  us  on  earth, 
to  despatch  the  work  on  which  our  everlasting  life  de- 
pendeth,  and  we  shall  have  but  one.  Lose  that,  and 
all  is  lost  for  ever :  yet  you  may  hear,  and  read,  and 
learn,  and  pray ;  but  when  this  life  is  ended,  it  shall 
be  so  no  more.  You  shall  rise  from  the  dead  indeed 
to  judgment,  and  to  the  life  that  you  are  now  prepar- 
ing for ;  but  never  to  such  a  life  as  this  on  earth  :  your 
life  is  as  the  fighting  of  a  battle,  that  must  be  won  or 
lost  at  once.  There  is  no  coming  hither  again  to  mend 
what  is  done  amiss.  Oversights  must  be  presently  cor- 
rected by  repentance,  or  else  they  are  everlastingly 
past  remedy.  Now,  if  you  be  not  truly  converted,  you 
may  be  ;  if  you  find  that  you  are  carnal  and  mi- 
serable, you  may  be  healed ;  if  you  are  unpardoned, 
you  maybe  pardoned;  if  you  are  enemies  you  may 
be  reconciled  to  God :  but  when  once  the  thread  of 
life  is  cut,  your  opportunities  are  at  an  end.  Now  you 
may  inquire  of  your  friends  and  teachers  what  you 
must  do  to  be  saved  ;  and  you  may  receive  particular 
instructions  and  exhortations,  and  God  may  bless 
them,  to  the  illuminating,  renewing,  and  saving  of 
your  souls.  But  when  life  is  past,  it  will  be  so  no  more. 
O  then,  if  departed  souls  might  but  return,  and  once 
more  be  tried  with  the  means  of  life,  what  joyful  tid- 


154  NOW    OR    NEVER. 

ings  would  it  be  !  How  welcome  would  the  messen- 
ger be  that  bringeth  it !  Had  hell  but  such  an  otTer  as 
this,  and  would  any  cries  procure  it  from  their  righte- 
ous Judge,  O  what  a  change  would  be  among  them  ! 
How  importunately  would  they  cry  to  God,  '  O  send 
Us  once  again  to  the  earth  !  Once  more  let  us  see  the 
face  of  mercy,  and  hear  the  tenders  of  Christ  and  of 
salvation !  Once  more  let  the  ministers  offer  us  their 
helps,  and  teach  in  season  and  out  of  season,  in  public 
and  in  private,  and  we  will  refuse  their  help  and  ex- 
hortations no  more !  we  will  hate  them,  and  drive  them 
away  from  our  houses  and  towns  no  more.  Once  more 
let  us  have  thy  word,  and  ordinances,  and  try  whether 
we  will  not  believe  them,  and  use  them  better  than 
we  did.  Once  more  let  us  have  the  help  and  company 
of  thy  saints,  and  we  will  scorn  them,  and  abuse  them, 
and  persecute  them  no  more.  O  for  the  great  invalua- 
ble mercy  of  such  a  life  as  once  we  had  !  O  try  us  once 
more  with  such  a  life,  and  see  whether  we  will  not 
contemn  the  world,  and  close  with  Christ,  and  hve  as 
strictly,  and  pray  as  earnestly,  as  those  that  we  hated 
and  abused  for  so  doing  !  O  that  we  might  once  more 
be  admitted  into  the  holy  assemblies,  and  have  the 
Lord's  days  to  spend  in  the  business  of  our  salvation! 
We  would  plead  no  more  against  the  power  and  purity 
of  the  ordinances  ;  we  would  no  more  call  that  day  a 
burden,  nor  hate  them  that  spent  it  in  works  of  holi- 
ness, nor  plead  for  the  liberty  of  the  flesh  therein.' 

He  that  would  have  Lazarus  sent  from  the  dead  to 
warn  his  unbelieving  brethren  on  earth,  no  doubt 
would  have  strongly  purposed  himself  on  a  reforma- 
tion, if  he  might  once  more  have  been  tried ;  and  how 
earnestly  would  he  have  begged  for  such  a  trial,  that 
begged  so  hard  for  a  drop  of  water?  But,  alas  !  such 
mouths  must  be  stopped  for  ever  with — "  Remember 
that  thou,  in  thy  lifetime,  received  thy  good  things." 

So  that  "  it  is  appointed  for  men  once  to  die,  and 
after  that  the  judgment."  But  there  is  no  return  to 
earth  again  :  the  places  of  your  abode,  emploj^ment, 
and  delight,  shall  know  you  no  more.  You  nmst  see 
these  faces  of  your  friends,  and  converse  in  flesh  with 


NOW   OR    NEVER.  155 

men  no  more.  This  world,  those  houses,  that  wealth 
and  honour,  as  to  any  fruition,  must  be  to  you  as  ii'you 
hfKJ  never  known  them. 

You  must  assemble  here  but  a  little  while.  Yet  a 
little  longer,  and  we  must  preach,  and  you  must  hear 
it  no  more  for  ever.  That  therefore  which  you  will 
do,  must  presently  be  done,  or  it  will  be  too  late.  If 
ever  you  will  repent  and  believe,  it  must  be  now.  If 
ever  you  will  be  converted  and  sanctified,  it  must  be 
now.  If  ever  you  will  be  pardoned  and  reconciled  to 
God,  it  must  be  now.  If  ever  you  will  reign,  it  is  now 
that  you  must  fight  and  conquer.  "  O  that  you  were 
wise,  that  you  understood  this,  and  that  you  would 
consider  your  latter  end  !"  And  that  you  would  let 
those  words  sink  down  into  your  hearts,  which  came 
from  the  heart  of  the  Redeemer,  as  was  witnessed  by 
his  tears  :  "  If  thou  hadst  known,  even  thou,  at  least  in 
this  thy  day,  the  things  which  belong  unto  thy  peace  ! 
but  now  they  are  hid  from  thine  eyes."  And  that 
these  warnings  may  not  be  the  less  regarded,  because 
you  have  so  ntr.en  heard  them;  when  often  hearing  in- 
creaseth  your  obligation,  and  diminisheth  not  the  truth, 
or  your  danger. 

3.  And  as  there  is  no  return  to  earth,  so  is  there  no 
doing  this  work  hereafter.  Heaven  and  hell  are  for 
other  work.  The  harvest  doth  presuppose  the  seed- 
time, and  the  labour  of  the  husbandman.  It  is  now 
that  you  must  sow,  and  hereafter  that  you  must  reap. 
It  is  now  that  you  must  work,  and  then  that  you  must 
receive  your  wages. 

Is  this  believed  and  considered  by  the  sleepy  world  ? 
Alas !  sirs,  do  you  live  as  men  that  must  live  here  no 
more  ?  Do  you  work  as  men  that  must  work  no  more, 
and  pray  as  men  that  must  pray  no  more,  when  once 
the  time  of  work  is  ended  ?  Whatthinkest  thou  !  will 
God  command  the  sun  to  stand  still  while  thou  rebel- 
lest  or  forgettest  thy  work  and  him  !  Dost  thou  ex- 
pect he  should  pervert  the  course  of  nature,  and 
continue  the  spring  and  seedtime  till  thou  hast  a 
mind  to  sow  ?  Will  he  renew  thy  age,  and  make 
thee  young  again,  and  call  back  the  hours  that  thou 


156  NOW    OR    NEVER. 

hast  prodigally  wasted  on  thy  lusts  and  idleness  ?  Canst 
thou  look  for  this  at  the  hand  of  God,  when  nature  and 
Scripture  assure  thee  of  the  contrary?  If  not,  why 
hast  thou  not  yet  done  with  thy  beloved  sins  ?  Why 
hast  thou  not  yet  begun  to  live  ?  Why  sittest  thou 
still  while  thy  soul  is  unrenewed,  and  all  thy  prepara- 
tion for  death  and  judgment  is  yet  to  make ''  How 
fain  would  Satan  find  thee  thus  at  death?  How  fain 
would  he  have  leave  to  blow  out  thy  candle,  before 
thou  hast  entered  into  the  way  of  life  ?  Dost  thou 
look  to  have  preachers  sent  after  thee,  to  brin^  thee  the 
mercy  which  thy  contempt  here  left  behind  ?  Wilt  thou 
hear  and  be  converted  in  the  grave  and  hell?  or  wilt 
thou  be  saved  without  holiness  ?  that  is,  in  despite  of 
God  that  hath  resolved  it  shall  not  be.  O  ye  sons  of 
sleep,  of  death,  of  darkness,  awake,  and  live,  and  hear  the 
Lord,  before  the  grave  and  hell  have  shut  their  mouths 
upon  you  !  Hear  now,  lest  hearing  be  too  late  !  Hear 
now,  if  you  will  ever  hear.  Hear  now,  if  you  have 
ears  to  hear  1  And,  O  ye  sons  of  light,  that  see  what 
sleeping  sinners  see  not,  call  to  them,  and  ring  them 
such  a  peal  of  lamentations,  tears,  and  compassionate 
entreaties,  as  is  suited  to  such  a  dead  and  doleful  state ; 
who  knows  but  God  may  bless  it  to  awake  them  ? 

II.  If  any  of  you  be  so  far  awakened  as  to  ask  me 
what  I  am  calling  you  to  do,  my  text  tells  you  in  gene- 
ral, Up  and  be  doing;  look  about  you,  and  see  what 
you  have  to  do,  and  do  it  with  your  might. 

1.  "  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,"  that  is, 
whatsoever  is  a  duty  imposed  by  the  Lord,  whatsoever 
is  a  means  conducing  to  thy  own  or  others'  welfare ; 
whatsoever  necessity  calleth  thee  to  do,  and  opportu- 
nity alio  we  th  thee  to  do. 

"  Thy  hand  findeth  ;"  that  is,  thy  executive  powers 
by  the  conduct  of  thy  understanding,  is  now  to  do. 

"  Do  it  with  thy  might."     Do  thy  best  in  it. 

1.  Trifle  not,  but  do  it  presently,  without  unneces- 
sary delay. 

2.  Do  it  resolutely ;  remain  not  doubtful,  unresolved, 
in  suspense,  as  if  it  were  yet  a  question  with  thee  whe- 
ther thou  shouldst  do  it,  or  not. 


NOW  OR   NEVER.  157 

3.  Do  it  with  thy  most  awakened  affections,  and 
serious  intention  of  the  powers  of  thy  soul.  Sleepiness 
and  insensibility  are  most  unsuitable  to  such  works. 

4.  Do  it  with  all  necessary  forecast  and  contrivance ; 
not  with  a  distracting  hindering  care  ;  but  with  such 
a  care  as  may  show  that  you  despise  not  your  Master, 
and  are  not  regardless  of  his  v/ork  :  and  with  such  a 
care  as  is  suited  to  the  difficulties  and  nature  of  the 
thing,  and  is  necessary  to  the  due  accomplishment  of  it. 

5.  Do  it  not  slothfully,  but  vigorously  and  with  dili- 
gence. "  Hide  not  thy  hand  in  thy  bosom  with  the 
slothful,"  and  say  not,  "  There  is  a  lion  in  the  way." 
The  negligent  and  the  vicious,  the  waster  and  the 
slothful,  diner  but  as  one  brother  from  another.  As 
the  self-murder  of  the  wilful  ungodly,  so  also  the  de- 
sire of  the  slothful  killeth  him,  because  his  hands  refuse 
to  labour.  "  The  soul  of  the  sluggard  desirelh  and 
hath  nothing;  but  the  soul  of  the  diligent  shall  be 
made  fat."  "  Be  not  slothful  in  business,  but  be  fer- 
vent in  spirit,  serving  the  Lord." 

6.  Do  it  with  constancy,  and  not  with  destructive 
pauses  and  intermissions,  or  with  weariness  and  turn- 
ing back.  "  The  righteous  shall  hold  on  his  way,  and 
he  that  is  of  clean  hands  shall  be  stronger  and  stronger." 
"  Be  steadfast,  unmoveable,  always  abounding  in  the 
work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  you  know  that  your 
labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  "  Be  not  weary  in 
well-doing  :  for  in  due  season  we  shall  reap  if  we  faint 
not."       °  ^ 

But,  that  misunderstanding  hinder  not  the  perform- 
ance, I  shall  acquaint  you  further  with  the  sense,  by 
these  {ew  explicatory  cautions. 

1.  The  might  and  diligence  here  required,  exclude 
not  the  necessity  of  deliberation  and  prudent  conduct. 
Otherwise,  the  faster  you  go,  the  further  you  may  go 
out  of  the  way  ;  and  misguided  zeal  may  spoil  all  the 
work,  and  make  it  but  an  injury  to  others  or  your- 
selves. A  little  imprudence  in  the  season,  and  order, 
and  manner  of  a  duty,  sometimes  may  3p)oil  it,  and 
hinder  the  success,  and  make  it  do  more  hurt  than 
good.    How  many  a  sermon,  or  prayer,  or  reproof,  is 

14 


158  NOW   OR   NEVER. 

made  the  matter  of  derision  and  contempt,  for  some 
imprudent  passages  or  deportment !  God  sendeth  not 
his  servants  to  be  jesters  of  the  world,  or  to  play  the 
madman  as  David  in  his  fears;  we  must  be  wise 
and  innocent,  as  well  as  resolute  and  valiant :  though 
fleshly  and  worldly  wisdom  be  not  desirable,  as  be- 
in^  but  foolishness  with  God  ;  yet  the  wisdom  which 
is  from  above,  and  is  first  pure  and  then  peaceable, 
and  is  acquainted  with  the  high  and  hidden  mysteries, 
and  is  justified  of  her  children,  must  be  the  guide  of  all 
our  holy  actions.  Holiness  is  not  bUnd :  illumination 
IS  the  first  part  of  sanctification.  Believers  are  chil- 
dren of  the  light.  Nothing  requireth  so  much  wisdom 
as  the  matters  of  God,  and  of  our  salvation.  Folly  is 
most  unsuitable  to  such  excellent  employments,  and 
most  unbeseeming  the  Sons  of  the  Most  High.  It  is 
a  spirit  of  wisdom  that  animateth  all  the  saints. 
"  Howbeit  we  speak  wisdom  among  them  that  are  per- 
fect ;  yet  not  the  wisdom  of  this  world,  nor  of  the 
princes  of  this  world,  that  come  to  nought:  but  we 
speak  the  wisdom  of  God  in  a  mystery,  even  the  hidden 
wisdom,  which  God  ordained  before  the  w^orld  unto 
our  glory."  It  is  the  treasures  of  wisdom  that  dwell 
in  Christ,  and  are  communicated  to  his  members.  We 
must "  walk  in  wisdom  toward  them  that  are  without." 
And  our  works  must  be  "  shown  out  of  a  good  conver- 
sation, with  meekness  of  wisdom." 

2.  Though  you  must  work  with  your  might,  yet 
with  a  diversity  agreeable  to  the  quality  of  your  seve- 
ral works.  Some  works  must  be  preferred  before 
others  :  all  cannot  be  done  at  once.  That  is  a  sin  out 
of  season,  which  in  season  is  a  duty.  The  greatest, 
and  the  most  urgent  work  must  be  preferred.  And 
some  works  must  be  done  with  double  fervour  and  re- 
solution, and  some  with  less.  Buying  and  selling,  and 
possessing,  and  using  the  world,  must  be  done  with  a 
fear  of  overdoing,  and  in  a  manner  as  if  we  did  them 
not,  though  they  also  musi  have  a  necessary  diligence, 
God's  "  kingdom  and  its  righteousness  must  be  first 
sought."  And  our  labour  for  the  meat  that  perisheth, 
must  be  comparatively  as  none  :  "  Labour  not  for  the 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  159 

meat  which  perisheth,  but  for  that  meat  which  endur- 
eth  unto  everlasting  life,  which  the  Son  of  man  shall 
give  unto  you  ;  for  him  hath  God  the  Father  sealed." 

3.  Lastly,  it  is  not  an  irregular,  nor  a  self-disturbing 
vexatious  violence  that  is  required  of  us ;  but  a  sweet 
well-settled  resolution,  and  a  delightful  expeditious  dili- 
gence, that  make  the  wheels  more  easily  get  over  those 
difficulties  that  clog  and  stop  a  slothful  soul. 

And  now  will  you  lend  me  the  assistance  of  your 
consciences,  for  the  transcribing  of  this  comimand  of 
God  upon  your  hearts,  and  taking  out  a  copy  of  this 
order,  for  the  regulating  of  your  lives  ?  Whatsoever 
is  not  a  word  so  comprehensive  as  to  include  any 
vanity  or  sin  ;  but  so  comprehensive  as  to  include  all 
our  duty. 

1.  To  begin  with  the  lowest:  the  very  works  of 
your  bodily  callings  must  have  diligence.  "  In  the 
sweat  of  your  brows  you  must  eat  your  bread."  "Six 
days  shalt  thou  labour,  and  do  all  that  thou  hast  to  do." 
"  He  that  will  not  work,  let  him  not  eat."  Disorderly 
walkers,  busybodies,  that  will  not  work  with  quietness, 
and  eat  their  own  bread,  are  to  be  avoided  and  shamed 
by  the  church.  "  For  we  hear  that  there  are  some 
which  walk  among  you  disorderly,  working  not  at  all, 
but  are  busybodies.  Now  them  that  are  such  we  com- 
mand and  exhort  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  with 
quietness  they  work,  and  eat  their  own  bread."  Lazy 
servants  are  unfaithful  to  men  and  disobedient  to  God, 
who  commandeth  them  to  "  obey  their  masters  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh,  (unbelieving,  ungodly  masters,)  in  all 
things,  (that  concern  their  service,)  and  that  not  with 
eye-service,  as  men- pleasers,  but  in  singleness  of  heart, 
and  in  the  fear  of  God,  do  whatsoever  they  do  as  to  the 
Lord,  and  not  unto  men ;  knowing  that  of  the  Lord 
(even  for  this)  they  shall  receive  the  reward  of  the  in- 
heritance." "  But  he  that  doth  wrong,  (by  slothful- 
ness,  or  unfaithfulness,)  shall  receive  for  the  wrong 
which  he  hath  done." 

Success  is  God's  ordinary  temporal  reward  of  dili- 
gence :  "  The  hand  of  the  diligent  shall  bear  rule  : 
but  the  slothful  shall  be  under  tribute.    The  slothful 


160  NOW    OR   NEVER. 

man  roasteth  not  that  which  he  took  in  hunting:  but 
the  substance  of  a  diligent  man  is  precious."  And 
diseases,  jx)verty,  shame,  disappointment,  or  seli-tor- 
menting  melancholy,  are  his  usual  punishments  of 
sloth,  fiard  labour  redeemeth  time ;  you  will  have  the 
more  to  lay  out  on  greater  works:  the  slothful  is  still 
behindhand,  and  therefore  must  leave  much  of  his 
work  undone. 

2.  Are  you  parents  or  governors  of  families  ?  You 
have  work  to  do  for  God,  and  for  your  children  and 
servants'  souls.  Do  it  with  3'our  might :  deal  wisely, 
but  seriously  and  frequently  with  them  about  their 
sin,  their  duty,  and  their  hopes  of  heaven ;  tell  them 
whither  they  are  going,  and  which  way  they  must  go. 
Make  them  understand  that  they  have  a  higher  Father 
and  Master  that  must  be  first  served,  and  greater  work 
than  yours.  Waken  them  from  their  natural  insensi- 
bility and  sloth :  turn  not  all  your  family  duties  into 
lifeless  customary  forms;  whether  extemporary,  or  by 
rote ;  speak  about  God,  and  heaven,  and  hell,  and  holi- 
ness, with  that  seriousness  which  beseems  men  that  be- 
lieve what  they  say,  and  would  have  those  believe  it 
to  whom  they  speak.  Talk  not  either  drowsily,  or 
lightly,  or  jestingly  of  such  dreadful,  or  joyful,  inex- 
pressible things.  Remember,  that  your  families  and 
you  are  going  to  the  grave,  and  to  the  world  where 
there  is  no  more  room  for  your  exhortations.  Tliere 
is  no  catechising,  examining,  or  serious  instructing 
them  in  the  grave,  whither  ihey  and  you  are  going. — 
It  must  be  now  or  never  :  and  therefore  do  it  with  your 
might.  *'  The  words  of  God  must  be  in  your  hearts, 
and  you  must  diligently  teach  them  to  your  children, 
talking  of  them  when  you  sit  in  your  houses,  when 
you  walk  by  the  way,  when  you  lie  down,  and  when 
you  rise  up." 

3.  Have  you  ignorant  or  ungodly  neighbours,  whose 
misery  calls  for  your  compassion  and  relief?  Speak  to 
them,  and  help  them  with  prudent  diligence.  Lose 
not  your  opportunities :  stay  not  till  death  hath  stop- 
ped your  mouths,  or  stopped  their  ears.  Stay  not  till 
they  are  out  of  hearing,  or  till  heaven  be  lost,  before 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  161 

y<^u  have  seriously  called  on  them  to  remember  it.  Go 
to  their  houses  ;  take  all  opportunities  :  stoop  to  their 
infirmities:  bear  with  unthankful  frowardness;  it  is 
for  men's  salvation.  Remember  there  is  no  place  for 
your  instructions  or  exhortations  in  the  grave  or  hell. 
Your  dust  cannot  speak,  and  their  dust  cannot  hear. 
Up,  therefore,  and  be  doing  with  all  your  might. 

4.  Hath  God  intrusted  you  with  the  riches  of  the 
world  ;  with  many  talents  or  with  {ew,  by  which  he 
looketh  you  should  relieve  the  needy,  and  especially 
should  promote  those  works  of  piety  which  are  the 
greatest  charity  ?  Give  prudently,  but  willingly  and 
Hberally,  while  you  have  to  give.  It  is  your  gain  :  the 
time  of  laying  up  a  treasure  in  heaven,  and  furthering 
your  salvation  by  that  which  hindereth  other  men's, 
and  occasioneth  their  perdition.  "  As  you  have  oppor- 
tunity, do  good  to  all  men,  but  especially  to  them  of 
the  household  of  faith."  "  Cast  thy  bread  upon  the 
waters  ;  for  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days.  Give 
a  portion  to  seven  and  to  eight ;  for  thou  knowest  not 
what  evil  may  be  upon  the  earth."  "  In  the  morning 
sow  thy  seed,  and  in  the  evening  withhold  not  thy 
hand  :  for  thou  knowest  not  whether  shall  prosper,  this 
or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall  be  alike  good." 
"  Withhold  not  good  from  them  to  whom  it  is  due,  when 
it  is  in  the  power  of  thy  hand  to  do  it.  Say  not  to  thy 
neighbour,  go  and  come  again,  and  to-morrow  I  will 
give,  when  thou  hast  it  by  thee."  Lay  up  a  founda- 
tion for  the  time  to  come.  Do  good  before  thy  heart 
be  hardened,  thy  riches  blasted  and  consumed,  thy  op- 
portunities taken  away ;  part  with  it  before  it  part  with 
thee.  Remember  it  must  be  now  or  never.  There  is  no 
working  in  the  grave. 

5.  Hath  God  intrusted  you  with  power  or  interest, 
by  which  you  may  promote  his  honour  in  the  world, 
and  relieve  the  oppressed,  and  restrain  the  rage  of  im- 
pious malice  ?  Hath  he  made  you  governors,  and  put 
the  sword  of  justice  into  your  hands?  Up  then  and  be 
doing  with  your  might.  Defend  the  innocent,  protect 
the  servants  of  the  Lord,  cherish  them  that  do  well,  be 
a  terror  to  the  wicked,  encourage  the  strictest  obedi- 

14  *       ° 


162  NOW   OR   NEVER. 

ence  to  the  universal  Governor,  discountenance  the 
breakers  of  his  laws.  Your  trust  is  great,  and  so  is 
your  advantage  to  do  good ;  and  how  great  will  be 
your  account,  and  how  dreadful,  if  you  be  unfaithful ! 

6.  To  come  yet  a  little  nearer  to  you,  and  speak  of 
the  work  that  is  yet  to  be  done  in  your  own  souls ;  are 
any  of  you  yet  in  the  state  of  unrenewed  nature,  born 
only  of  the  flesh,  and  not  of  the  Spirit?  "Minding 
the  things  of  the  flesh,  and  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit," 
and  consequently  yet  in  the  power  of  Satan,  taken 
captive  by  him  at  his  will?  Up  and  be  doing,  if  thou 
lovest  thy  soul.  If  thou  carest  whether  thou  shalt  be 
in  joy  or  misery  for  ever,  bewail  thy  sin  and  spiritual 
distress.  Go  to  Christ,  cry  mightily  to  him  for  his 
renewing,  reconciling,  and  pardoning  grace.  Plead 
his  satisfaction,  his  merits,  and  his  promises ;  away 
with  thy  rebellion,  and  thy  beloved  sin  ;  deliver  up  thy 
soul  entirely  to  Christ,  to  be  sanctified,  governed  and 
saved  by  him.  Make  no  more  demur ;  it  is  not  a 
matter  to  be  questioned,  or  trifled  in.  Let  the  earth 
be  acquainted  with  thy  bended  knees,  and  the  air  with 
thy  complaints  and  cries,  and  men  with  thy  confessions 
and  inquiries  after  the  way  of  life  ;  and  heaven  with 
thy  sorrows,  desires,  and  resolutions,  till  thy  soul  be 
acquainted  with  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  and  with  the  new, 
the  holy  and  heavenly  nature,  and  thy  heart  have 
received  the  transcript  of  God's  law,  the  impress  of 
the  Gospel,  and  so  the  image  of  thy  Creator  and  Re- 
deemer. For  there  is  no  conversion,  renovation,  or 
repentance  unto  life,  in  the  grave  whither  thou  goest. 
It  must  be  now  or  never.  And  never  saved  if  never 
sanctified :  "  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the 
Lord." 

7.  Hast  thou  any  prevailing  sin  to  mortify,  that 
either  reigneth  in  thee,  or  woundeth  thee  and  keepeth 
thy  soul  in  darkness  and  unacquaintedness  with  God? 
Assault  it  resolutely;  reject  it  speedily;  abhor  the 
motions  of  it ,  turn  away  from  the  persons  or  things 
that  would  entice  thee.  Hate  the  doors  of  the  harlot 
and  of  the  ale-house,  or  the  gaming-house ;  and  go 
not  as  the  "  ox  to  the  slaughter,  and  as  a  bird  to  the 


NOW   OR   NEVER.  163 

fowler's  snare,  and  as  a  fool  lo  the  correction  of  the 
stocks,  as  if  thou  knewest  not  that  it  is  for  thy  life," 
Why  wilt  thou  be  tasting  of  the  poisoned  cup?  Wilt 
thou  be  sporting  with  the  bait  ?  Hast  thou  no  where 
to  walk  or  play,  but  at  the  brink  of  ruin  ?  Must  not 
the  flesh  be  crucified,  w^ith  its  "  affections  and  lusts  ?" 
Must  it  not  be  tamed  and  mortified,  or  thy  soul  con- 
demned? "  For  if  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye slmll  die: 
hut  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of 
the  body,  ye  shall  live."  Run  not  therefore  as  at 
uncertainty ;  fight  not  as  one  "  that  beats  the  air." 
Seeing  this  must  be  done,  or  thou  art  undone,  delay 
and  dally  with  sin  no  longer.  Let  this  be  the  day ; 
resolve,  and  resist  it  with  thy  might :  it  must  be  now 
or  never  :  when  death  comes  it  is  too  late. 

S.  Art  thou  in  a  declined,  fallen  state  ?  Decayed  in 
grace  ?  Hast  thou  lost  thy  first  desires  and  love  ?  Do 
thy  first  w^orks,  and  do  them  with  thy  might.  Delay 
not,  but  remember  from  whence  thou  art  fallen.  Cry 
out  with  Job,  "  O  that  I  were  as  in  months  past ;  as  in 
the  days  when  God  preserved  me !  when  his  candle 
shined  upon  my  head,  and  when,  by  his  light,  I  walked 
through  darkness.  As  I  was  in  the  days  of  my  youth, 
wiien  the  secret  of  God  was  on  my  tabernacle,  when 
the  Almighty  was  yet  with  me."  Return  while  thou 
liast  day,  lest  the  night  surprise  thee. 

"9.  Art  thou  in  the  darkness  of  uncertainty  concern- 
ing thy  conversion,  and  thy  everlasting  state?  Dost 
thou  not  know  whether  thou  art  in  a  state  of  life  or 
death  ?  And  what  should  become  of  thee,  if  this  were 
the  day  or  hour  of  thy  change  ?  If  thou  art  careless 
in  thy  uncertainty,  and  mindest  not  so  great  a  business, 
be  awakened,  and  call  thy  soul  to  its  account ;  search 
and  examine  thy  heart  and  life  ;  read  and  consider, 
and  take  advice  of  faithful  guides.  Canst  thou  care- 
lessly sleep,  and  laugh,  and  sport,  and  follow  thy  busi- 
ness, as  if  thy  salvation  were  made  sure,  when  thou 
knowest  not  where  thou  must  dwell  for  ever?  "  Exa- 
mine yourselves  whether  you  be  in  the  faith  ;  prove 
yourselves ;  know  ye  not  your  own  selves,  that  Christ 
is  in  you,  except  ye  be  reprobates?"     Give  all  dill- 


\ 

\ 


164  wow    OR    NEVER. 

gence  to  make  your  calling  and  election  sure."  In  the 
grave  and  hell  there  is  no  making  sure  of  heaven ; 
you  are  then  past  inquiries  and  self-examination,  in 
order  to  any  recovery  or  hope.  Another  kind  of  trial 
will  finally  resolve  you.     It  must  be  now  or  never. 

10.  In  all  the  duties  of  thy  profession  of  piety,  jus- 
tice, or  charity  to  God,  thyself,  or  others,  up  and  be 
doing  with  thy  might.  Art  thou  seeking  to  inflame 
thy  soul  with  love  to  God?  Plunge  thyself  in  the  ocean 
of  his  love;  admire  his  mercies;  gaze  upon  the  repre- 
sentations of  his  transcendant  goodness ;  "  O  taste  and 
see  that  the  Lord  is  gracious!"  Remember  that  he 
must  be  loved  with  all  thy  heart,  and  soul,  and  might ; 
canst  thou  pour  out  thy  love  upon  a  creature,  and  give 
but  a  few  barren  drops  to  God? 

When  thou  art  fearing,  let  his  fear  command  thy 
soul,  and  conquer  all  the  fear  of  man.  When  thou  art 
trusting  him,  do  it  without  distrust,  and  cast  all  thy 
care  and  thyself  upon  him  :  trust  him  as  a  creature 
should  trust  his  God,  and  the  members  of  Christ  should 
trust  their  head  and  dear  Redeemer.  When  thou  art 
making  mention  of  his  great  and  dreadful  name,  O  do 
it  with  reverence,  and  awe,  and  admiration  :  and  "  take 
not  the  name  of  God  in  vain !"  When  thou  art  read- 
ing his  word,  let  the  majesty  of  the  Author,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  matter,  "and  the  gravity  of  the  style, 
possess  thee  with  an  obedient  fear.  Love  it,  and  let 
it  be  sweeter  to  thee  than  the  honey-comb,  and  more 
precious  than  thousands  of  gold  and  silver.  Resolve 
to  do  what  there  thou  findest  to  be  the  will  of  God. 
When  thou  art  praying  in  secret,  or  in  thy  family, 
"  do  it  with  thy  might :"  cry  mightily  to  God,  as  a 
soul  under  sin,  wants,  and  danger,  that  is  stepping  into 
an  endless  life,  should  do.  Let  the  reverence  and  the 
fervour  of  thy  prayers,  show  that  it  is  God  himself 
that  thou  art  speaking  to :  that  it  is  heaven  itself  that 
thou  art  praying  for  ;  hell  itself  that  thou  art  praying 
to  be  saved  from.  Wilt  thou  be  dull  and  senseless  on 
such  an  errand  to  the  living  God  ?  Remember  what 
lieth  upon  thy  failing  or  prevailing :  and  that  it  must 
be  now  or  never. 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  165 

Art  thou  a  preacher  of  the  gospel,  and  takest  charge 
of  the  souls  of  men  ?  "  Take  heed  to  thyself  and  to 
the  whole  flock,  over  Avhich  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made 
thee  an  overseer,  to  feed  the  church  of  God,  which  he 
hath  purchased  with  his  own  blood."  Let  not  the 
blood  of  souls,  and  the  blood  that  purchased  them, 
"  be  required  at  thy  hands."  Thou  art  charged  "  be- 
fore God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  shall  judge 
the  quick  and  the  dead  at  his  appearing,  and  his  king- 
dom, that  thou  preach  his  word  :  be  instant  in  season, 
and  out  of  season  ;  reprove,  rebuke,  and  exhort,  with 
all  long-suffering'  and  doctrine."  "  Teach  every  man, 
and  exhort  every  man, — even  night  and  day  with  tears." 
"  Save  men  with  fear,  pulling  them  out  of  the  fire. 
Cry  aloud  :  Uft  up  thy  voice  like  a  trumpet;  tell  them 
of  their  transgressions."  Yet  thou  art  alive,  and  they 
alive ;  yet  thou  hast  a  tongue,  and  they  have  ears : 
the  final  sentence  hath  not  yet  cut  off  their  hopes. 
Preach,  therefore,  and  preach  with  all  thy  might. 
Exhort  them,  privately  and  personally,  with  all  the 
seriousness  thou  canst.  Quickly,  or  it  will  be  too  late ; 
prudently,  or  Satan  will  overreach  thee  ;  fervently,  or 
thy  words  are  hkely  to  be  disregarded.  Remember, 
when  thou  lookest  them  in  the  faces,  when  thou  be- 
holdest  the  assemblies,  that  they  must  be  converted  or 
condemned,  sanctified  on  earth,  or  tormented  in  hell ; 
and  that  this  is  the  day  :  it  must  be  now  or  never. 

In  a  word,  apply  this  quickening  precept  to  all  the 
duties  of  the  Christian  course.  Be  religious,  and 
just,  and  charitable,  in  good  earnest,  if  you  would 
be  taken  for  such  when  you  look  for  the  reward. 
"  Work  out  your  salvation  with  lear  and  trembling." 
"  Strive  to  enter  in  at  the  strait  gait ;  for  many  shall 
seek  to  enter,  and  shall  not  be  able."  Many  run,  but 
few  receive  the  prize ;  so  run  that  you  may  obtain. 
"  If  the  righteous  scarcely  be  saved,  where  shall  the 
ungodly  and  sinner  appear.^"  Let  the  doting  world 
deride  your  diligence,  and  set  themselves  to  hinder  and 
afflict  you  :  it  will  be  but  a  little  while  before  experi- 
ence change  their  minds,  and  make  them  talk  differ- 
ently.   Follow  Christ  fully :  be  diligent,  and  lose  no 


166  NOW   OR   NEVER. 

time.  The  Judge  is  coming.  Let  not  words,  nor  any 
thing  that  man  can  do,  prevail  with  you  to  sit  down, 
or  stop  you  in  a  journey  of  such  importance.  Please 
God,  though  flesh,  and  friends,  and  all  the  world 
should  be  displeased.  Whatever  come  of  your  repu- 
tation, or  estates,  or  liberties,  or  Hves,  be  sure  you  look 
to  life  eternal ;  and  cast  not  that,  on  any  hazard,  for  a 
ivithering  flower,  or  a  pleasant  dream,  or  a  picture  ot 
commodity,  or  any  vanity  that  the  Deceiver  can  pre- 
sent. "  For  what  shall  it  profit  you,  to  win  the  world, 
and  lose  your  soul  ?"  Obey  God,  though  all  the  world 
forbid  you.  No  power  can  save  you  tirom  his  justice  ; 
and  none  of  them  can  deprive  you  of  his  reward. 
Though  you  lose  your  heads,  you  shall  save  your 
crowns ;  you  no  way  save  your  lives  so  certainly, 
as  by  such  losing  them.  One  thing  is  necessary  : 
do  that  with  speed,  and  care,  and  diligence,  which 
must  be  done,  or  you  are  lost  for  ever.  They  that 
are  now  against  your  much  and  earnest  praying, 
will  shortly  cry  as  loud  themselves  in  vain.  When 
it  is  too  late,  how  fervently  will  they  beg  for 
mercy,  that  now  deride  you  for  valuing  and  seeking 
it  in  time  !  But  "  then  they  shall  call  upon  God,  but  he 
will  not  answer ;  they  shall  seek  him  early,  but  shall 
not  find  him  :  for  that  they  hated  knowledge,  and  did 
not  choose  the  fear  of  the  Lord :  they  would  none  of 
his  counsel,  but  despised  all  his  reproof."  Up,  there- 
fore, and  work  with  all  thy  might.  Let  unbelievers 
trifle,  that  know  not  that  the  righteous  God  stands 
over  them,  and  know  not  that  they  are  now  to  work 
for  everlasting,  and  know  not  that  heaven  or  hell  is  at 
the  end.  Let  them  delay,  and  laugh,  and  play,  and 
dream  away  their  time,  that  are  drunk  with  pros- 
perity, and  mad  with  fleshly  lusts  and  pleasures,  and 
have  lost  their  reason  in  the  cares,  and  delusions,  and 
vain-glory  of  the  world.  But  shall  it  be  so  with  thee, 
whose  eyes  are  opened,  who  seest  the  God,  the  hea- 
ven, the  hell,  which  they  do  but  hear  of  as  unlikely 
things  ?  Wilt  thou  live  awake,  as  they  that  are  asleep? 
Wilt  thou  do  in  the  day-lio;ht,  as  they  do  in  the  dark? 
SJbi^ll  freemen  hve  as  Satan  s  slaves  ?  Shall  the  living  lie 


NOW  Or  never.  167 

as  still  and  useless  as  the  dead  ?  "  Work  then  while 
it  is  day  ;  for  the  night  is  coming,  when  none  can  work." 
But  you  will  say,  perhaps,  '  Alas !  what  might  have 
we  ?  We  have  no  sufficiency  of  ourselves  :  without 
Christ  we  can  do  nothing.  And  this  we  find  when  it 
comes  to  the  trial.' 

1.  I  answer,  It  is  not  might  that  is  originally  thine 
own,  that  I  am  calling  thee  to  exercise  ;  but  that  which 
thou  hast  already  received  from  God,  and  that  which 
he  is  ready  to  bestow.  Use  well  but  all  the  might  thou 
hast,  and  thou  shalt  find  thy  labour  is  not  in  vain. 

2.  Art  thou  willing  to  use  the  might  thou  hast,  and 
to  have  more,  and  use  it  if  thou  hadst  it?  If  thou  art, 
thou  hast  then  the  strength  of  Christ:  thou  standest  not, 
and  workest  not,  by  thy  own  strength  ;  his  promise  is 
engaged  to  thee,  and  his  strength  is  sufficient  for  thee. 
But  if  thou  art  not  willing,  thou  art  without  excuse: 
when  thou  hast  heaven  and  hell  set  open  in  the  word 
of  God  to  make  thee  willing,  God  will  distinguish  thy 
wilfulness  from  unwilling  weakness. 

3.  There  is  more  power  in  all  of  you  than  you  use, 
or  than  you  are  well  aware  oIT  It  wanteth  but  awak- 
ening to  bring  it  into  act.  Do  you  not  find,  in  your 
repentings,  that  the  change  is  more  in  your  will,  than 
in  your  power?  And  in  the  awakening  of  your  will  and 
reason  into  act,  than  in  the  addition  of  mere  abilities  ? 
And  that  therefore  you  befool  yourselves  for  your  sins 
and  your  neglects,  and  wonder  that  you  had  no  more 
use  of  your  understandings  ?  Let  but  a  storm  at  sea, 
or  violent  sickness  or  approaching  death,  rouse  up  and 
awaken  the  powers  which  you  have,  and  you  will  find 
there  was  much  more  asleep  in  you  than  you  used. 

I  shall,  therefore,  next  endeavour  to  awaken  your 
abilities,  or  tell  you  how  you  should  awaken  them. 

When  your  souls  are  drowsy,  and  you  are  forget- 
ting your  God,  and  your  latter  end,  and  matters  of 
eternity  have  little  force  and  favour  with  you,  when 
you  grow  lazy  and  superficial,  and  religion  seems  a 
lifeless  thing,  and  you  do  your  duty  as  if  it  were  in 
vain,  or  against  your  wills;  when  you  can  lose  your 
lime,  and  delay  repentance ;  and  Iriends,  and  profit, 


168  NOW    OR   NEVER. 

and  reputation,  and  pleasure,  can  be  heard  against 
the  word  of  God,  and  take  you  off;  when  you  do  all 
by  halves,  and  languish  in  your  Christian  course,  as 
near  to  death — stir  up  your  souls  with  the  urgency  of 
such  questions  as  these  : — 

Question  1.  Can  I  do  no  more  than  this  for  God,  who 
gave  me  all,  who  deserveth  all  ?  Who  seeth  me  in  my 
duties  and  my  sins  ?  When  he  puts  me  purposely  on 
the  trial,  what  can  I  do  for  his  sake  and  service  ?  Can 
I  do  no  more  ?  Can  I  love  him  no  more,  and  obey,  and 
watch,  and  work  no  more? 

Question  2.  Can  I  do  no  more  than  this  for  Christ? 
For  him  that  did  so  much  for  me  ?  That  obeyed  so 
perfectly  ;  walked  so  meekly  ;  despising  all  the  baits, 
and  honours,  and  riches  of  the  world  ?  That  loved  me 
to  the  death;  and  offereth  me  freely  all  his  benefits,  and 
would  bring  me  to  eternal  glory  ?  Are  these  careless, 
cold,  and  dull  endeavours,  my  best  return  for  all  his 
mercy  ? 

Question  3.  Can  I  do  no  more,  when  my  salvation  is 
the  prize?  when  heaven  or  hell  depends  upon  it? 
When  I  know  this  beforehand,  and  may  see,  in  the 
glass  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  what  is  prepared  for  the 
diligent  and  the  negligent,  and  what  work  there  is,  and 
will  be  for  ever,  in  heaven  and  hell,  on  these  accounts? 
Could  I  not  do  more,  if  my  house  were  on  fire,  or  my 
estate,  or  life,  or  friend,  in  danger,  than  I  do  for  my 
salvation  ? 

Question  4.  Can  I  do  no  more  for  the  souls  of  men  ; 
•when  they  are  undone  for  ever  if  they  be  not  speedily 
delivered?  Is  this  my  love  and  compassion  to  my 
neighbour,  my  servant,  friend,  or  child  ? 

Question  5.  Can  I  do  no  more  for  the  church  of 
God  ?  for  the  public  good  ?  for  the  peace  and  welfare 
of  the  nation,  and  our  posterity  ?  in  suppressing  sin  ? 
in  praying  for  deliverance  ?  or  in  promoting  works  of 
public  benefit  ? 

Question  6.  Can  I  do  no  more,  that  have  loitered  so 
long  ?  and  go  no  faster,  that  have  slept  till  the  evening 
of  my  days,  when  diligence  must  be  the  discovery  of 
my  repentance  ? 


NOW   OR    NEVER.  169 

Question  7.  Can  I  do  no  more,  that  know  not  now 
but  I  am  doing  my  last?  that  see  how  fast  my  time 
makes  haste,  and  know  I  must  be  quickly  gone  ?  that 
know  it  must  be  now  or  never. 

Question  8.  Can  I  do  no  better,  when  I  know  be- 
forehand what  a  vexatious  and  heart-disquieting  thing 
it  will  then  be,  to  U)ok  back  on  time  as  irrecoverably 
lost,  and  on  a  life  of  trial  as  cast  away  upon  imper- 
tinences, while  the  work  that  we  lived  for  lay  undone  ! 
Shall  I  now,  by  trifling,  prepare  such  tormenting 
thoughts  for  my  awakened  conscience  ? 

Question  9.  Can  I  do  no  more,  when  I  am  sure  I 
cannot  do  too  much,  and  am  sure  there  is  nothing  else 
to  be  preferred  ? 

Question  10.  Can  I  do  no  moie,  that  have  so  much 
help  ?  that  have  mercies  of  all  sorts  encouraging  me, 
and  creatures  attending  me ;  that  have  health  to  en- 
able me,  or  affliction  to  remember  and  excite  me ;  that 
have  such  a  master,  such  a  work,  such  a  reward  ?  who 
is  less  excusable  for  neglect  than  I? 

Question  1 1 .  Could  I  do  no  more,  if  I  were  sure 
that  my  salvation  lay  on  this  one  duty  ?  that,  according 
to  this  prayer,  it  should  go  with  me  for  ever  ?  or  if 
the  soul  of  my  child,  or  servant,  or  neighbour,  must 
speed  for  ever,  as  my  endeavours  speed  with  them 
now  for  their  conversion  ?  For  aught  I  know  it  may 
be  thus. 

By  this  time  you  may  see  what  difference  there  is 
between  the  judgment  of  God  and  of  the  world  ;  and 
what  to  think  of  the  understandings  of  those  men,  be 
they  high  or  low,  learned  or  unlearned,  who  hate  or 
oppose  this  holy  diligence.  God  bids  us  love,  and  seek, 
and  serve  him,  with  all  our  heart,  and  soul,  and  might : 
and  these  men  call  them  Zealots  and  Puritans  that  en- 
deavour it ;  though,  alas  !  they  fall  exceedingly  short, 
when  they  have  done  their  best.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
wonderful,  monstrous  deformities  that  ever  befell  the 
nature  of  man  ;  that  men,  learned  men — that  men  who 
in  other  things  are  wise,  should  seriously  think-iiiat 
the  utmost  diligence  to  obey  the  Lord,  and  save  our 
souls,  is  needless  ;  and  that  ever  they  should  iake  it  for 

15 


170  NOW    OR    NEVER. 

a  crime,  and  make  it  a  matter  of  reproach :  that  the 
serious,  diligent  obeying  of  God's  laws,  should  be  the 
matter  of  the  common  disdain  and  hatred  of  the  world. 
It  is  not  in  vain  that  the  Holy  Ghost  saith,  "  Marvel 
not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you;"  implying, 
that  we  are  apt  to  marvel  at  it ;  as  I  confess  I  have  oft 
and  greatly  done.  Methinks,  it  is  so  wonderful  a 
plague  and  stain  in  nature,  that  it  doth  very  much  to 
confirm  me  of  the  truth  of  Scripture  ;  of  the  doctrine 
of  man's  fall  and  original  sin,  and  the  necessity  of  a 
Reconciler,  and  of  renewing  grace. 

Look  upwards,  sirs,  and  think  whether  heaven  be 
worth  our  labour.  Look  downwards,  and  think  whe- 
ther earth  be  more  worthy  of  it.  Lay  up  your  trea- 
sures where  you  must  dwell  for  ever.  If  that  be  here, 
then  scrape,  and  flatter,  and  get  all  that  you  can:  but 
if  it  be  not  here,  but  in  another  life,  then  hearken  to 
your  Lord,  and  lay  up  for  yourselves  a  treasure  in 
heaven,  and  there  let  your  very  hearts  be  set.  And, 
upon  the  peril  of  everlasting  misery,  hearken  not  to  any 
man  that  will  tempt  you  from  a  diligent  holy  life.  It 
is  a  serious  business;  deal  seriously  in  it,  and  be  not 
laughed  or  mocked  out  of  heaven. 

AH  the  commands,  and  promises,  and  threatenings 
of  God,  the  most  powerful  preaching,  that,  as  it  were, 
sets  open  heaven  and  hell,  do  not  prevail  with  fleshly 
men,  to  leave  the  most  sordid  and  unmanly  sin  :  and 
shall  the  words  or  frowns  of  creeping  dust  prevail  with 
thee  against  the  work  for  which  thou  livest  in  the 
world,  when  thou  hast  still  at  hand  unanswerable  ar- 
guments from  God,  from  thyself,  from  heaven  and  hell, 
to  put  thee  on  ?  Were  it  but  for  thy  life,  or  the  life  of 
thy  children,  friend,  yea,  or  enemy,  or  for  the  quench- 
ing of  a  fire  in  thy  house,  or  in  the  town,  wouldst  thou 
not  stir  and  do  thy  best?  And  wilt  thou  be  idle  when 
eternal  Ufe  lies  on  it?  Let  Satan  roar  against  thee  by 
his  instruments.  Let  sinners  talk  awhile  of  they  know 
not  what,  till  God  hath  made  them  change  their  note. 
These  are  not  matters  for  a  man  to  observe,  that  is 
engaged  for  an  endless  life.  O  what  are  these  to  the 
things  that  thou  art  called  to  prosecute  ?  Hold  on,  then, 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  171 

Christians,  in  the  work  that  you  have  begun.  Do  it 
prudently,  and  do  it  universally.  Take  it  together, 
works  of  piety,  justice,  and  charity :  but  do  it  now 
without  delay,  and  do  it  seriously  with  your  might. 
I  know  not  what  cloud  of  darkness  hath  seized  on  those 
men's  minds  that  speak  against  this,  or  what  deadly 
damp  hath  seized  on  their  hearts,  that  hath  so  benumb- 
ed and  unmanned  them. 

For  my  own  part,  though  I  have  long  lived  in  a 
sense  of  the  preciousness  of  time,  and  have  not  been 
wholly  idle  in  the  world  ;  yet,  when  I  have  the  deep- 
est thoughts  of  the  great  everlasting  consequence  of  my 
work,  and  of  the  uncertainty  and  shortness  of  my  time, 
I  am  even  amazed  to  think  that  my  heart  can  be  so  slow 
and  senseless,  as  to  do  no  more  in  such  a  case.  The 
Lord  knows,  and  my  conscience  knows,  that  my  sloth- 
fulness  is  so  much  my  shame  and  admiration,  that  I  am 
astonished  to  think  that  my  resolutions  are  no  stronger, 
my  affections  no  livelier,  and  my  labour  and  diligence 
no  greater,  when  God  is  the  commander,  and  his  love 
the  encourager,  and  his  wrath  the  spur,  and  heaven  or 
hell  must  be  the  issue.  O,  what  lives  should  all  of  us 
five,  that  have  things  of  such  unspeakable  consequence 
on  our  hands,  if  our  hearts  were  not  almost  dead  with- 
in us !  Let  who  will  speak  against  such  a  life,  it  shall 
be  my  daily  grief  and  moan,  that  I  am  so  dull,  and  do 
so  little.  I  know  that  our  w^orks  do  not  profit  the  Al- 
mighty, nor  bear  any  proportion  with  his  reward  ;  nor 
can  they  stand  in  his  sight,  but  as  accepted  in  the  Lord 
our  righteousness,  and  perfumed  by  the  odour  of  his 
merits.  But  I  know  they  are  necessary,  and  they  are 
sweet.  Without  the  holy  employment  of  our  faculties, 
this  life  will  be  but  a  burden  or  a  dream,  and  the  next 
an  inexpressible  misery.  O  therefore,  that  I  had  more 
of  the  love  of  God,  that  my  soul  could  get  but  nearer 
to  him,  and  move  more  swiftly  upward  by  faith  and 
love !  O  that  I  had  more  of  holy  life,  and  active 
diligence,  thouo-h  I  had  with  it  the  scorns  of  all  about 
me,  and  though  they  made  me,  as  they  once  did  better 
men,  "  as  the  filth  of  the  world,  and  the  ofiscouring 
of  all  things !"    0  that  I  had  more  of  this  derided  dili- 


172  NOW    OR    NEVER. 

gence,  and  holy  converse  with  the  Lord,  though  "  my 
name  was  cast  out  as  an  evil  doer,"  and  I  were  spit 
at  and  buffeted  by  those  that  do  now  but  secretly  re- 
proacb  !  Might  I  more  closely  follow  Christ  in  holiness, 
why  should  I  grudge  to  bear  his  cross,  and  to  be  used 
as  he  was  used  ?  Knowing  that  "  if  we  suffer  with  him, 
we  shall  also  reign  with  him ;  and  the  sufferings  of 
this  present  time  are  not  worthy  to  be  compared  with 
the  glory  which  shall  be  revealed  in  us." 

Alas,  sirs  !  it  is  nothing  but  intoxicating  prosperity, 
and  sensual  delights,  and  worldly  diversions,  that  make 
you  think  well  of  ungodly  slothfulness,  and  make  you 
think  contemptuously  of  a  heavenly  lite.  There  is'not 
the  boldest  infidel  in  the  world,  nor  the  bitterest  enemy 
to  holiness,  but  shortly  would  wish  they  had  rather 
been  saints,  with  all  the  scorn  and  cruelty  that  malice 
can  inflict  on  such,  than  to  have  braved  it  out  in  pride 
and  gallantry,  with  the  neglect  of  everlasting  things. 

Methinks  I  even  see  how  you  will  passionately  rage 
against  yourselves,  and  tear  your  hearts  with  sell-re- 
venge, (if  grace  prevent  it  not  by  a  safe  repentance,) 
when  you  think  too  late  how  you  lived  on  earth,  and 
what  golden  times  of  grace  you  lost,  and  vilified  all 
that  would  not  lose  them  as  foolishly  as  you.  If  re- 
pentance unto  life  made  St.  Paul  call  himself  foolish, 
disobedient,  deceived,  and  exceeding  mad,  (Tit.  iii.  3. 
Acts  xxvi.  11.)  you  may  imagine  how  tormenting  re- 
pentance will  make  you  call  yourselves  too  late. 

0  sirs !  you  cannot  now  conceive,  what  different 
thoughts  will  then  possess  you  of  a  holy  and  unholy 
life.  How  mad  you  will  think  them  that  had  but  one 
life's  time  of  preparation  for  eternal  life,  and  desperate- 
ly neglected  it !  And  how  sensible  you  will  then  be  of 
the  wisdom  of  believers,  that  knew  their  time,  and  used 
it  while  they  had  it!  "  Now  wisdom  is  justified  of  all 
her  children  ;"  but  then  how  sensibly  will  it  be  justified 
of  all  its  enemies  !  O,  with  what  remorse  will  undone 
souls  look  back  on  a  life  of  mercy  and  opportunities, 
thus  basely  undervalued,  and  slept  away  in  dreaming 
idleness,  and  fooled  away  for  things  of  nought ! 

The  language  of  that  rich  man,  Luke  xvi.  may 


NOW    OR    NEVER. 


173 


help  you  m  your  predictions.  O  how  will  you  wonder 
at  yourselves,  that  ever  you  could  be  so  blind  and 
senseless,  as  to  be  no  more  affected  with  the  warnings 
of  the  Lord,  and  with  the  forethoughts  of  everlasting 
joy  and  misery  !  To  have  but  one  small  part  of  time 
to  do  all  that  ever  must  be  done  by  you  for  eternity, 
and  say  all  that  ever  you  must  say,  for  your  own  or 
others'  souls,  and  that  this  was  spent  in  worse  than 
nothing!  To  have  but  one  uncertain  life,  in  which 
you  must  run  the  race  that  wins  or  loses  heaven  for 
ever ;  and  that  you  should  be  tempted  with  a  thing  of 
nought,  to  lose  that  one  irrecoverable  opportunity,  and 
to  sit  still  or  run  another  way,  when  you  should  have 
been  making  haste  with  all  your  might!  O  sirs,  the 
thoughts  of  this  will  be  other  kind  of  thoughts  another 
day  than  now  you  feel  them ;  you  cannot  now  think 
how  the  thoughts  of  this  will  then  affect  you  !  That 
you  had  a  time  in  which  you  might  have  prayed,  with 
promise  of  acceptance,  and  had  no  hearts  to  take  that 
time !  That  Christ  was  offered  to  you  as  well  as  he  was 
offered  to  them  that  entertained  him ;  that  you  were 
called  on,  and  warned  as  well  as  they,  but  obstinately 
despised  and  neglected  all !  That  life  and  death  were 
set  before  you,  and  the  everlasting  joys  were  offered 
to  your  choice,  against  the  charms  of  sinful  pleasures, 
and  you  might  have  freely  had  them  if  you  would,  and 
were  told  that  holiness  was  the  only  way,  and  that  it 
must  be  now  or  never,  and  yet  that  you  chose  your 
own  destruction  !  These  thoughts  will  be  part  of  hell 
to  the  ungodly.  They  will  wonder  that  reason  could 
be  so  unreasonable ;  and  that  they,  who  had  the  com- 
mon wit  of  men  in  other  matters,  should  be  so  far 
beside  themselves  in  that  which  is  the  only  thing  that 
is  commendable  to  be  wise  for;  that  such  reasonings 
should  prevail  with  them  against  the  clearest  light,  and 
nothing  should  be  preferred  before  all  things,  and  argu- 
ments fetched  from  chaff  should  conquer  those  that 
were  fetched  from  heaven!  O  what  heart-rending 
thoughts  will  these  be,  when  eternity  shall  afford  them 
leisure  for  an  impartial  review! 

Corne  away  speedily  from  the  snares  of  sinners,  and 
15* 


174  NOW   OR   KEVEH. 

the  company  of  deceived  hardened  men,  and  cast  away 
the  works  of  darkness.  Heaven  is  before  you  !  Death 
is  at  hand  !  The  eternal  God  hath  sent  to  call  you  ! 
Mercy  doth  yet  stretch  forth  its  arms !  You  have 
stayed  too  long,  and  abused  patience  too  much  already : 
stay  no  longer !  O  now  please  God,  and  comfort  us, 
and  save  yourselves,  by  resolving  that  "  this  shall  be 
the  day :"  and  faithfully  performing  this  your  resolu- 
tion, "  up  and  be  doing :"  believe,  repent,  desire,  obey, 
and  do  all  this  with  all  your  might ;  love  him  that  you 
must  love  for  ever,  and  love  him  with  all  your  soul  and 
might ;  seek  that  which  is  truly  worth  seeking,  and 
will  pay  for  all  your  cost  and  pains,  and  seek  it  first 
with  all  your  might,  remembering  still  it  must  be  now 
or  never. 

And  now  I  should  conclude,  I  am  loath  to  end,  for 
fear  lest  I  have  not  yet  prevailed  with  you.  What 
are  you  now  resolved  to  do,  from  this  day  forward  ? 
It  is  work  that  we  have  been  speaking  of,  and  necessary 
work  of  endless  consequence,  which  must  be  done,  and 
quickly  done,  and  thoroughly  done.  Are  you  not  con- 
vinced that  it  is  so  ?  that  ploughing  and  sowing  are 
not  more  necessary  to  your  harvest,  than  the  work  of 
holiness  in  this  day  of  grace  is  necessary  to  your  sal- 
vation ?  You  are  blind,  if  you  see  not  this  ;  you  are 
dead,  if  you  feel  it  not :  what  then  will  you  do  ?  O 
hear  the  God  of  heaven,  if  you  will  not  hear  us,  who 
calleth  to  you.  Return  and  live  !  O  hear  him  that  shed 
his  blood  for  souls,  and  tendereth  you  now  salvation 
by  his  blood !  O  hear  without  any  more  delay,  before 
all  is  gone,  and  you  are  gone,  and  he  that  now  deceiv- 
eth  you,  torment  you  \  Yet  hold  on  a  little  longer  in 
a  carnal,  earthly,  unsanctified  state,  and  it  is  too  late 
to  hope  or  pray,  or  strive  for  your  salvation.  Yet  a 
little  longer,  and  mercy  will  have  done  with  you  for 
ever  ;  and  Christ  will  never  invite  you  more,  nor  ever 
offer  to  cleanse  you  by  his  blood ;  nor  sanctify  you  by 
his  Spirit.  Yet  a  little  longer,  and  you  shall  never  hear 
a  sermon  more,  and  never  move  be  troubled  with  those 
preachers  that  were  in  good  earnest  with  you,  and 
longed  once  for  your  conversion  and  salvation.     0 


«0W    OR    NEVER.  175 

sleepy,  dead-hearted  sinners,  what  should  I  do  to  show 
you  how  near  you  stand  to  eternity,  and  what  is  now 
doing  in  the  world  that  you  are  going  to,  and  how 
these  things  are  thought  on  there  !  What  should  I 
do  to  make  you  know  how  time  is  valued,  how  sin  and 
holiness  are  esteemed  in  the  world  where  you  must  live 
for  ever !  What  should  I  do  to  make  you  know  those 
things  to-day,  which  I  will  not  thank  you  to  know  when 
you  are  gone  hence !  O  that  the  Lord  would  open 
your  eyes  in  time  !  O  that  I  could  but  make  you  know 
these  things  as  believers  should  know  them !  I  say  not 
as  those  that  see  them,  nor  yet  as  dreamers,  that  do 
not  regard  them,  but  as  those  that  believe  that  they 
must  shortly  see  them ;  what  a  joyful  hour's  work  should 
I  esteem  this !  how  happy  would  it  be  to  you  and  me ! 
If  every  word  were  accompanied  with  tears ;  if  this 
sermon  cost  me  as  many  censures  or  slanders  as  ever 
sermon  did,  I  should  not  think  it  too  dear,  if  I  could 
but  help  you  to  such  a  sight  of  the  things  we  speak  of, 
that  you  might  truly  understand  them  as  they  are : 
that  you  had  but  a  true  awakened  apprehension  of  the 
shortness  of  your  day,  of  the  nearness  of  eternity,  and 
of  the  endless  consequence  of  your  present  work,  and 
what  holy  labour  and  sinful  loitering  will  be  thought 
of  in  the  world  to  come  for  ever.  But  when  we  see 
you  sin,  and  trifle,  and  no  more  regard  your  endless 
life,  and  see  also  what  haste  your  time  is  making,  and 
yet  cannot  make  you  understand  these  things;  when 
we  know  ourselves  as  sure  as  we  speak  to  you,  that 
you  will  shortly  be  astonished  at  the  review  of  your 
present  sloth  and  folly,  and  when  we  know  that  these 
matters  are  not  thought  of  in  another  world,  as  they 
are  among  sleepy  sinners  here,  and  yet  know  not  how 
to  make  you  know  it,  whom  it  doth  so  exceedingly 
much  concern,  this  amazeth  us,  and  almost  breaks  our 
hearts.  Yea,  when  we  tell  you  of  things  that  are  past 
doubt,  and  can  be  no  further  matter  of  controversy, 
than  men  have  sold  their  understandings,  and  betrayed 
their  reason  to  their  sordid  lusts,  and  yet  we  cannot 
get  reasonable  men  to  know  that  which  they  cannot 
choose  but  know,  to  know  that  seriously  and  practically 


176  vow   OR    NEVER. 

wliicb  always  hath  a  witness  in  their  breasts,  and  which 
none  but  the  profligate  dare  deny ;  tt)is,  even  this,  is 
worse  than  a  prison  to  us.  It  is  you  that  are  our  per- 
secutors ;  it  is  you  that  are  the  daily  sorrow  of  our 
hearts  ;  it  is  you  that  disappoint  us  of  our  hopes,  and 
make  us  lose  so  much  of  the  labour  of  our  lives. 

Sinners,  whatever  the  devil  and  raginor  passion  may 
say  against  a  holy  Ufe,  God  and  your  own  consciences 
shall  be  our  witnesses,  that  we  desired  nothing  unrea- 
sonable, or  unnecessary  at  your  hands. 

The  question  that  I  am  putting  to  you,  is  not  whether 
you  will  be  for  this  form  of  church-government,  or  for 
that :  but  it  is,  whether  you  will  hearken  in  time  to 
God  and  conscience,  and  be  as  busy  to  provide  for 
heaven,  as  ever  you  have  been  to  provide  for  earth  .'* 
It  is  godliness,  serious  and  practical  godUness,  that  thou 
art  called  to.  It  is  nothing  but  what  all  Christians  in 
the  world  are  agreed  in.  That  I  may  not  leave  thee 
in  any  darkness  Avhich  I  can  deliver  thee  from,  I  will 
tell  thee  distinctly,  though  succincdy,  what  it  is  that 
thou  art  thus  importuned  to ;  and  tell  me,  then,  whether 
it  be  that  which  any  Christian  can  make  doubt  of. 

1.  That  which  I  entreat  of  thee,  is  but  to  live  as 
one  that  verily  believeth  there  is  a  God  ;  and  that  this 
God  is  the  Creator,  the  Lord  and  Ruler  of  the  world  : 
and  that  it  is  incomparably  more  our  business  to  under- 
stand and  obey  his  laws,  and  as  faithful  subjects  to  be 
conformed  to  them,  than  to  observe  or  be  conformed 
to  the  laws  of  man  :  and  to  live  as  men  that  do  believe 
that  this  God  is  Almighty,  and  that  the  greatest  of  men 
are  less  than  erawUng  worms  to  him ;  and  that  he  is 
infinitely  wise,  and  the  wisdom  of  man  is  foolishness 
to  him  ;  and  that  he  is  infinitely  good  and  amiable  ;  that 
his  love  is  the  only  felicity  of  man  ;  and  that  none  are 
happy  but  those  that  do  enjoy  it ;  and  none  that  do 
enjoy  it  can  be  miserable  ;  and  that  liclies,  and  honour, 
and  fleshly  delights  are  brutish  vanities  in  comparison 
of  the  eternal  love  of  God.  Live  but  as  men  that 
heartily  believe  all  this,  and  I  have  that  I  come  for : 
and  is  any  of  this  a  matter  of  controversy  or  doubt? 
Not  among  Ciiristians  I  am  sure :  not  among  wise 


wow  X)-R   KEVE-R.  177 

men.  It  is  no  doubt  to  those  in  heaven,  nor  to  those 
in  hell,  nor  to  those  that  have  not  lost  their  under- 
standings upon  earth.  Live  then  according  to  these 
truths. 

2.  Live  as  men  that  verily  believe  that  mankind  is 
fallen  into  sin  and  misery ;  and  that  all  men  are  cor- 
rupted, and  under  the  condemnation  of  the  law  of  God, 
till  they  are  delivered,  pardoned,  reconciled  to  God, 
and  made  new  creatures,  by  a  renewing,  restoring, 
sanctifying  change.  Live  but  as  men  that  believe  that 
this  cure  must  be  wrought,  and  this  great  restoring 
change  must  be  made  upon  ourselves,  if  it  be  not  done 
already.  Live  as  men  that  have  so  great  a  work  to 
iook  after  ;  and  is  this  a  matter  of  any  doubt  or  con- 
troversy ?  Sure  it  is  not  to  a  Christian  :  and  methinks 
it  should  not  be  to  any  man  else  that  knoweth  himself, 
any  more  than  to  a  man  in  a  dropsy,  whether  he  be 
diseased,  when  he  feels  the  thirst  and  sees  the  swelling. 
Did  you  but  know  what  cures  and  changes  are  neces- 
sarily to  be  made  upon  your  diseased  miserable  souls, 
if  you  care  what  becomes  of  them,  you  would  soon  see 
cause  to  look  about  you. 

3.  Live  but  as  men  that  verily  believe  that  the  Son 
of  God  hath  suffered  for  your  sins,  and  brought  you 
the  tidings  of  pardon  and  salvation,  which  you  may 
have,  if  you  will  give  up  yourselves  to  him  who  is  the 
physician  of  souls,  to  be  healed  by  him.  Live  as  men 
that  beUeve  that  the  infinite  love  of  God,  revealed  to 
lost  mankind  in  the  Redeemer,  doth  bind  us  to  love 
him  with  all  our  hearts,  and  serve  him  with  all  our 
restored  faculties,  and  to  work  as  those  that  have  the 
greatest  thankfulness  to  show,  as  well  as  the  greatest 
mercies  to  receive,  and  misery  to  escape :  and  as  those 
that  believe,  that  if  sinners  that,  without  Christ,  had 
not  hope,  shall  now  love  their  sins  and  refuse  to  leave 
them,  and  to  repent  and  be  converted,  and  unthankful- 
ly  reject  the  mercy  of  salvation  so  dearly  bought,  and 
freely  offered  them,  their  damnation  will  be  doubled  as 
their  sin  is  doubled. 

Live  but  as  men  that  have  such  redemption  to  ad- 
mire, such  mercy  to  entertain,  and  such  a  salvation  to 


178  NOW    OK    NEVER. 

attain,  and  that,  are  sure  they  can  never  escape  if  they 
continue  to  "neglect  so  great  salvation."  And  is  there 
any  controversy  among  Christians  in  any  of  this  ?  There 
is  not,  certainly. 

4.  Live  but  as  men  that  beheve  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  given  by  Jesus  Christ  to  convert,  to  quicken,  and  to 
sanctify  all  that  he  will  save  ;  that  "  except  you  be 
born  again  of  the  Spirit,  you  shall  not  enter  into  the. 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;"  and  that  "  if  any  man  have  not 
the^Spirit  of  Christ,  the  same  is  none  of  his,"  and  that 
without  this,  no  mending  of  your  lives,  by  any  common 
principles,  will  serve  the  turn  for  your  salvation,  or 
make  you  acceptable  to  God.  Live  as  men  that  be- 
lieve that  this  Spirit  is  given  by  the  hearing  of  the 
word  of  God,  and  must  be  prayed^  for,  and  obeyed,  and 
not  resisted,  quenched,  and  grieved.  And  is  there  any 
controversy  among  Christians  in  any  of  this  ? 

5.  Live  but  as  men  that  believe  that  sin  is  the  great- 
est evil,  the  thing  which  the  holy  God  abhorreth ;  and 
then  you  will  never  make  a  mock  of  it,  as  Solomon 
saith  the  foolish  do ;  nor  say,  What  harm  is  in  it.'' 

6.  Live  but  as  men  that  believe  no  sin  is  pardoned 
without  repentance ;  and  that  repentance  is  the  loath- 
ing and  forsaking  of  sin  ;  and  that  if  it  be  true,  it  will 
not  suffer  you  to  live  in  any  sin,  nor  to  desire  to  keep 
the  least  infirmity,  nor  to  be  loath  to  know  your  un- 
known sins. 

7.  Live  as  those  that  believe  that  you  are  to  be 
members  of  the  Holy  Catholic  Church,  and  therein  to 
hold  the  communion  of  saints.  And  then  you  will 
know  that  it  is  not  as  a  member  of  any  sect  or  party, 
but  as  a  holy  member  of  this  holy  church,  that  you 
must  be  saved  :  and  that  it  is  the  name  of  a  Christian, 
which  is  more  honourable  than  the  name  of  any  divi- 
sion, or  subdivision  among  Christians. 

8.  Live  as  those  that  believe  that  there  is  a  life  ever- 
lasting, where  the  sanctified  shall  live  in  endless  joy, 
and  the  unsanctified  in  endless  punishment  and  woe : 
live  but  as  men  that  verily  believe  a  heaven  and  a  hell, 
and  a  day  of  judfrment,  in  which  all  the  actions  of  this 
life  must  be  revised,  and  all  men  judged  to  their  end- 


NOW    OR    NEVER.  179 

less  state.  Believe  these  things  heartily,  and  then 
think  a  holy  diligence  needless  if  you  can.  Then  be 
of  the  mind  of  the  tleriders  and  enemies  of  godliness  if 
you  can.  If  one  sight  of  heaven  or  hell  would  serve 
without  any  more  ado,  instead  of  other  arguments,  to 
confute  all  the  cavils  of  the  distracted  world,  and  to 
justify  the  most  diligent  saints  in  the  judgment  of  those 
that  now  abhor  them,  why  should  not  a  sound  belief  ot 
the  same  thing  in  its  measure  do  the  same  ? 

9.  Live  but  as  those  that  believe  this  life  is  given  us 
as  the  only  time  to  make  preparation  for  eternal  life: 
and  that  all  that  ever  shall  be  done  for  your  salvation, 
must  be  now,  just  now,  before  your  time  is  ended  :  live 
as  those  that  know,  and  need  not  faith  to  tell  them, 
that  this  time  is  short,  and  almost  at  an  end  already, 
and  stayeth  for  no  man,  but,  as  a  post,  doth  haste 
away.  It  will  not  stay  while  you  are  taken  up  at  stage 
plays,  in  compliments,  in  idle  visits,  or  any  impertinent, 
needless  things:  it  will  not  tarry  while  you  spend  yet 
the  other  year,  or  month,  or  day,  in  your  worldliness, 
or  ambition,  or  in  your  lusts  and  sensual  delights,  and 
put  off  your  repentance  to  another  time.  O  sirs,  for 
the  Lord's  sake,  do  but  Uve  as  men  that  must  shortly 
be  buried  in  the  grave,  and  their  souls  appear  before 
the  Lord,  and  as  men  that  have  but  this  little  time  to 
do  all  for  their  everlasting  life,  that  ever  must  be  done. 
O  live  as  men  that  are  sure  to  die,  and  are  not  sure  to 
live  till  to-morrow  :  and  let  not  the  noise  of  pleasure  or 
worldly  business,  or  the  chat  or  scorns  of  miserable 
fools,  bear  down  your  reason,  and  make  you  live  as  if 
you  knew  not  what  you  know  ;  or  as  if  there  was  any 
doubt  abouc  these  things.  Who  is  the  man  and  what  is 
his  name,  that  dares  contradict  them,  and  can  make  it 
good  ?  O  do  not  sin  against  your  knowledge :  do  not 
stand  still  and  see  your  glass  running,  and  time  making 
such  haste,  and  yet  make  no  more  haste  yourselves, 
than  if  you  were  not  concerned  in  it :  do  not,  O  do  not 
slumber,  when  time  and  judgment  never  slumber ;  nor 
sit  still  when  you  have  so  much  to  do,  and  know  al\ 
that  is  now  left  undone  must  be  undone  for  ever! 
Alas,  sirs,  how  many  questions  of  exceeding  weight 


180"  NOW  OK  NEVER, 

have  you  yet  to  be  resolved  in !  whether  you  are  truly 
sanctified?  whether  your  sins  be  pardoned?  whether 
you  shall  be  saved  when  you  die  ?  whether  you  are 
ready  to  leave  this  world  and  enter  upon  another  ?  I 
tell  you,  the  answering  of  these  and  many  more  such 
questions,  is  a  matter  of  no  small  difficulty  or  concern. 
And  all  these  must  be  done  in  this  little  and  uncertain 
time.  It  must  be  now  or  never.  Live  but  as  men  that 
believe  and  consider  these  unquestionable  things. 

10.  Lastly,  Will  you  but  live  as  men  that  believe 
that  the  world  and  the  flesh  are  the  deadly  enemies  of 
your  salvation?  and  that  believe,  that  "  if  any  man  love 
the  world,  (so  far)  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
him  ?"  and  as  men  that  believe  that,  "  if  ye  live  after 
the  flesh  ye  shall  die  ;  but  if  by  the  Spirit  ye  mortify 
the  deeds  of  the  body,  ye  shall  live  ;"  and  that  those 
"who  are  in  Christ  Jesus,  and  are  freed  from  condem- 
nation, are  such  as  "  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  but  afier 
the  Spirit?"  And  that  we  must  "  make  no  provision 
for  the  flesh,  to  satisfy  the  will  or  lusts  thereof;"  and 
must  not  "  walk  in  gluttony  and  drunkenness,  in  cham- 
bering and  wantonness,  in  strife  and  envy,"  but  must 
"have  our  hearts  where  our  treasure  is,"  and  our  con- 
versation in  heaven ;  and  being  risen  with  Christ, 
must  seek  the  things  that  are  above,  and  set  our  affec- 
tions on  them,  and  not  on  things  that  are  on  earth. 

Sirs,  will  you  say  that  any  of  this  is  our  singu-lar 
opinion,  or  matter  of  controversy  and  doubt  ?  Are 
not  all  Christians  agreed  in  it  ?  Do  you  not,  your  own 
selves  profess  that  you  believe  it?  Live  then  but  as 
those  that  do  believe  it,  and  condemn  not  yourselves  in 
the  things  that  you  confess. 

I  have  done  my  part  to  open  to  you  the  necessity  of 
serious  diligence,  and  to  call  up  the  sluggish  souls  of 
sinners  to  mind  the  work  of  their  salvation,  and  to  do 
it  speedily,  and  with  all  their  might.  I  must  now  leave 
the  success  to  God  and  you.  What  use  you  will  make  of 
it,  and  what  you  will  be  and  and  do  for  the  time  to  come, 
is  a  matter  that  more  concerneth  yourselves  than  me. 

Sirs,  the  matter  is  now  laid  before  you.  What  will 
you  now  do  ?    Have  I  convinced  you  now,  that  God 


NOW   OR   NEVER.  ig| 

and  your  salvation  are  to  be  sought  with  all  your 
might ."  If  I  have  not,  it  is  not  for  want  of  evidence 
m  what  IS  said,  but  for  want  of  wiihngness  in  your- 
selves to  know  the  truth. 

It  is  wonderful,  to  think  that  learned  men,  and  gen 
tiemen,  and  men  that  pretend  to  reason  and  ino-enuitv 
can  quietly  betray  their  souls,  and  do  the  evil  that  they 
have  no  more  to  say  for,  and  neglect  that  duty  that 
they  have  no  more  to  say  against,  when  they  know 
they  must  do  it  noio  or  never.     That  while  they  con- 
fess that  there  is  a  God,  and  a  life  to  come,  a  heaven 
and  a  hell,  and  that  this  life  is  purposely  o-iven  us  for 
preparation  for  eternity  ;  while  they  conless"that  God  is 
most  wise,  and  holy,  and  good,  and  just,  and  that  sin 
IS  the  greatest  evil,  and  that  the  word  of  God  is  true 
they  can  yet  make  shift  to  quiet  themselves  in  an  un- 
holy, sensual,  careless  life ;  and  that  while  they  honour 
the  apostles  and  martyrs,  and  saints  that  are  dead  and 
gone,  they  hate  their  successors  and  imitators,  and  the 
hves  that  they  lived. 

Alas  !  all  this  comes  from  the  want  of  a  sound  belief 
of  the  things  which  they  never  saw;  and  the  distance 
ot  those  things,  and  the  power  of  passion,  and  sensual 
objects  and  inclinations,  that  hurry  them  away  after 
present  vanities,  and  conquer  reason,  and  rob  them  of 
their  humanity;  and  from  the  noise  of  the  company  of 
sensual  sinners,  that  harden  and  deafen  one  another 
and  by  the  just  judgment  of  God  forsaking  those  that 
would  not  know  him,  and  leaving  them  to  the  blind- 
ness and  hardness  of  their  hearts.     But  is  there  no 
remedy?     O  Thou,  the  Fountain  of  mercy  and  relief 
vouchsafe  these  miserable  sinners  a  remedy  !  O  Thou' 
the  Saviour  of  lost  mankind,  have  mercy  upon  these 
sinners  in  the  depth  of  their  security,  presumption,  and 
misery !     O  Thou,  the  Illuminator  and  Sanctifier  of 
souls,  apply  the  remedy  so  dearly  purchased ! 

Poor  sleepy  sinners,  hear  us !  Though  we  speak  not 
to  you  as  men  would  do  that  had  seen  heaven  and  hell ; 
and  were  themselves  in  a  perfectly  awakened  frame,' 
yet  hear  us  while  we  speak  to  you  the  words  of  truth, 
with  some  seriousness,  and  compassionate  desire  for 

16 


182  NOW   OR    NEVER. 

your  salvation.  O  look  up  to  your  God  !  Look  om 
unto  eternity  :  Look  inwardly  upon  your  souls  :  Look 
wisely  upon  your  short  and  hasty  time  :  and  then  he- 
think  you  how  the  little  remnant  of  your  time  should 
be  employed  ;  and  what  it  is  that  most  concerneth  you 
to  despatch  and  secure  before  you  die.  Now  you  have 
sermons,  and  books,  and  vv^arnings:  it  will  not  be  so 
long.  Preachers  must  have  done ;  God  threateneth 
them,  and  death  threateneth  them,  and  men  threaten 
them,  and  it  is  you,  it  is  you  that  are  most  severely 
threatened,  and  that  are  called  on  by  God's  warnings. 
"  If  any  man  have  an  ear  to  hear,  let  him  hear."  Now 
you  have  abundance  of  private  helps,  you  have  abun- 
dance of  understanding  gracious  companions ;  you 
have  the  Lord's  day  to  spend  in  holy  exercises,  for  the 
edification  and  solace  of  your  souls  ;  you  have  choice 
of  sound  and  serious  books:  O  what  invaluable  mer- 
cies are  all  these!  O  know  your  time,  and  use  these 
with  industry,  and  improve  this  harvest  for  your  souls  I 
For  it  will  not  be  thus  always  :  it  must  be  now  or  never. 
You  have  yet  time  and  leave  to  pray  and  cry  to  God 
in  hope  ;  yet  if  you  have  hearts  and  tongues,  he  hath 
a  hearing  ear ;  the  Spirit  of  grace  is  ready  to  assist 
you.  It  will  not  be  thus  always  :  the  time  is  coming 
when  the  loudest  cries  Avill  do  no  good.  O  pray,  pray, 
pray,  poor  needy  miserable  sinners ;  for  it  must  be  now 
or  neve)'. 

You  have  yet  health  and  strength,  and  bodies  fit  to 
serve  your  souls  :  it  will  not  be  so  always  :  languish- 
ing, and  pains,  and  death  are  coming.  O  use  your 
health  and  strength  for  God ;  for  it  must  be  now  or 
never. 

Yet  there  are  some  stirrings  of  conviction  in  your 
consciences :  you  find  that  all  is  not  well  with  you  ; 
and  you  have  some  thoughts  or  purposes  to  repent  and 
be  new  creatures.  There  is  some  hope  in  this,  that 
yet  God  hath  not  quite  forsaken  you.  O  trifle  not, 
and  stifle  not  the  convictions  of  your  consciences,  but 
hearken  to  the  witness  of  God  within  you.  It  must  be 
now  or  never. 

Would  you  not  be  loath  to  be  left  to  the  despairing 


NOW   OR    NEVER.  183 

case  of  many  poor  distressed  souls,  that  cry  out,  '  O  it 
is  now  too  late  1  I  fear  my  day  of  grace  is  past ;  God 
will  not  hear  me  now  if  I  should  call  upon  him :  he 
hath  forsaken  me,  and  given  me  over  to  myself.  It  is 
too  late  to  repent,  too  late  to  pray,  too  late  to  think 
of  a  new  life ;  all  is  too  late.'  This  case  is  sad;  hut 
yet  many  of  these  are  in  a  safer  and  better  case  than 
they  imagine,  and  are  but  frightened  by  tlie  Tempter: 
and  it  is  not  too  late,  while  they  cry  out,  '  It  is  too 
late ;'  but  if  you  are  left  to  cry  in  hell,  '  It  is  too  late ;' 
alas,  how  long  and  how  doleful  a  cry  and  lamentation 
will  it  be ! 

O  consider,  poor  sinner,  that  God  knoweth  the  time 
and  season  of  thy  mercies.  He  giveth  the  spring  and 
harvest  in  their  season,  and  all  his  mercies  in  their 
season ;  and  wilt  thou  not  know  thy  time  and  season,  of 
love,  and  duty,  and  thanks  to  him? 

Consider  that  God,  who  hath  commanded  theethy 
work,  hath  also  appointed  thee  thy  time.  And  this  is 
his  appointed  time.  To-day,  therefore,  hearken  to  his 
voice,  and  see  that  thou  harden  not  thy  heart.  He 
that  bids  thee  "  repent  and  work  out  thy  salvation  with 
fear  and  trembling,"  doth  also  bid  thee  do  it  now. 
Obey  him  in  the  time,  if  thou  wilt  be  indeed  obedient; 
he  best  understandeth  the  fittest  time.  One  would 
think  to  men  that  have  lost  so  much  already,  and 
loitered  so  long,  and  are  so  lamentably  behindhand, 
and  stand  so  near  the  bar  of  God,  and  their  everlasting 
state,  there  should  be  no  need  to  say  any  more  to  per- 
suade them  to  be  up  and  doing.  I  shall  add  but  this  : 
*  You  are  never  like  to  have  a  better  time.'  Take  this, 
or  the  work  will  grow  more  difficult,  more  doubtful,  if 
through  the  just  judgment  of  God,  it  become  not  des- 
perate. If  all  this  will  not  serve,  but  still  you  will  loiter 
till  time  be  gone,  what  can  your  poor  friends  do  but 
lament  your  misery !  The  Lord  knows,  if  we  knew 
what  words,  what  pains,  what  cost  would  tend  to  your 
awakening,  and  conversion,  and  salvation,  we  should 
be  glad  to  submit  to  it  :  and  we  hope  we  should  not 
think  our  labours,  or  liberties,  or  our  lives  too  dear  to 
promote  so  blessed  and  so  necessary  a  work.    But  if 


184  NOW   OR   NEVER. 

when  all  this  is  done  that  we  can  do,  you  will  leave  us 
nothing  but  our  tears  and  moans  for  self-destroyers, 
the  sin  is  yours,  and  the  suffering  shall  be  yours.  If  I 
can  do  no  more,  I  shall  leave  this  upon  record,  that  we 
took  our  time  to  tell  you,  that  set-ions  diligence  is  ne- 
cessary to  your  salvation  ;  and  that  God  is  the  "  Re- 
warder  of  them  that  diligently  seek  him,"  and  that  this 
was  your  day,  your  only  day.  It  must  be  now  or 
never. 


FIFTY  REASONS 

WHY  A  SINNER  OUGHT  TO  TURN  TO  GOD 
WITHOUT  DELAY. 

[with  some  abridgment.] 

HEBREWS  III.  7,  8. 

To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voict,  harden  not  your  hearts. 

1.  Consider  to  whom  it  is  that  you  are  commanded 
to  turn ;  and  then  tell  me  whether  there  can  be  any 
reason  for  delay.  It  is  not  to  an  empty  deceitful  crea- 
ture, but  to  the  faithful  all-sufficient  God  ;  to  Him  that 
is  the  cause  of  all  things;  the  strength  of  the  creation; 
the  joy  of  angels ;  the  felicity  of  the  saints  ;  the  sun  and 
shield  of  all  the  righteous ;  the  refuge  of  the  distressed; 
and  the  glory  of  the  whole  world.  Of  such  power,  that 
his  word  can  take  down  the  sun  from  the  firmament, 
and  turn  the  earth  and  all  things  into  nothing ;  for  he 
doth  more  in  giving  them  their  being  and  continuance  : 
of  such  wisdom,  that  he  was  never  guilty  of  mistake  ; 
and  therefore  will  not  mislead  you,  nor  draw  you  to 
any  thing  that  is  not  for  the  best :  of  such  goodness,  as 
that  evil  cannot  stand  in  his  sight,  and  nothing  but 
your  evil  could  make  him  displeased  with  you  ;  and  it  is 
from  nothing  but  evil,  that  he  calleth  you  to  turn.  It 
is  not  to  a  malicious  enemy,  that  would  do  you  misr 
chief,  but  to  a  gracious  God  that  is  love  itself;  not  to  an 
implacable  justice,  but  to  a  reconciled  Father  ;  not  to 
revenging  indignation,  but  to  the  embrace  of  those 

16* 


186  FIFTY    REASONS. 

arms,  and  the  mercy  of  that  compassionate  Lord,  that 
is  enough  to  melt  the  hardest  heart,  when  you  find 
yourself,  as  the  poor  returning  prodigal,  in  his  bosom, 
when  you  deserved  to  be  under  his  feet.  And  will  the 
great  and  blessed  God  invite  thee  to  his  favour,  and 
wilt  thou  delay  and  demur  upon  the  return  ?  The 
greatest  of  the  angels  of  heaven  are  glad  of  his  favour, 
and  value  no  happiness  but  the  light  of  his  counte- 
nance. Heaven  and  earth  are  supported  by  him,  and 
nothing  can  stand  without  him.  How  glad  would 
those  very  devils  be  of  his  favour,  that  tempt  thee 
to  neglect  his  favour !  And  wilt  thou  delay  to  turn 
to  such  a  God?  Why,  man,  thou  art  every  minute 
at  his  mercy.  And  yet  dost  thou  delay  ?  There  are  all 
thincTS  imacnnable  in  him  to  draw  thee.  There  is 
nothing  that  is  good  for  thee,  but  it  is  perfectly  in  him, 
where  thou  mayst  have  it  certain  and  perpetual. 
There  is  nothing  in  him  to  give  the  least  discourage- 
ment :  let  all  the  devils  in  hell,  and  all  the  enemies  of 
God  on  earth,  say  the  worst  they  can  against  his  ma- 
jesty, and  they  are  not  able  to  find  tlie  smallest  blemish 
in  his  absolute  holiness,  and  wisdom,  and  goodness. 
And  yet  wilt  thou  delay  to  return  ? 

2.  Consider,  also,  to  what  it  is  that  thou  must  turn 
Not  to  uncleanness,  but  to  holiness  ;  not  to  the  sensual 
life  of  a  beast,  but  to  the  noble  rational  life  of  a  man, 
and  the  more  noble  heavenly  life  of  a  Christian  ;  not  to 
an  unprofitable  worldly  toil,  but  to  the  most  gainful 
employment  that  ever  the  sons  of  men  were  acquainted 
with  ;  not  to  the  deceitful  drudgery  of  sin,  but  to  that 
godliness  which  is  profitable  to  all  things,  "  having  the 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to 
come.""  Sirs,  do  you  know  what  a  life  of  holiness  is  ? 
You  do  not  know  it,  if  you  turn  away  from  it.  I  am 
sure,  if  you  knew  it,  you  would  never  fly  from  it. 
No,  nor  endure  to  live  without  it.  Why,  a  life  of  ho- 
liness is  nothing  but  living  unto  God  ;  to  be  conversant 
with  him,  as  the  wicked  are  with  the  world ;  and  to 
be  devoted  to  his  service,  as  sensualists  are  to  the  flesh. 
It  is  to  live  in  the  love  of  God,  and  of  our  Redeemer ; 
and  in  the  foretaste  of  his  everlasting  glory,  and  of  his 


FIFTY   REASONS.  187 

Icve  ;  and  in  the  sweet  fore-thoughts  of  that  blessed 
life  that  shall  never  end;  and  in  the  honest  self-denying 
course  that  leadeth  to  that  blessedness.  A  godly  life 
is  nothing  else  but  a  sowing  the  seed  of  heaven  on 
earth  ;  and  a  learning,  in  the  school  of  Christ,  the  songs 
of  praise  which  we  must  use  before  the  throne  of  God ; 
and  by  suffering, — a  learning  how  to  triumph  and  reign 
with  Christ. 

Can  you  delay  to  come  into  your  Father's  family ; 
into  the  vineyard  of  the  Lord  ;  into  the  kingdom  of 
God  on  earth  ;  to  be  "  fellow-citizens  of  the  saints,  and 
of  the  household  of  God;"  to  have  the  pardon  of  all 
your  sins,  and  the  sealed  promise  of  everlasting  glory? 
Why,  sirs,  when  you  are  called  on  to  turn,  you  are 
called  to  the  porch  of  heaven,  into  the  beginning  of  sal- 
vation ;  and  will  you  delay  to  accept  everlasting  life? 

3.  Consider  also,  From  what  you  are  called  to  turn  ; 
and  then  judge  whether  there  be  any  reason  of  delay. 
It  is  from  the  devil,  your  enemy;  from  the  love  of  a 
deceitful  world;  from  the  seductions  of  corrupted 
brutish  flesh  ;  it  is  from  sin,  the  greatest  evil.  What 
is  there  in  sin,  that  you  should  delay  to  part  with  it? 
Is  there  any  good  in  it  ?  Or  what  hath  it  ever  done 
for  you  that  you  should  love  it?  Did  it  ever  do  you 
good?  Or  did  it  ever  do  any  man  good?  It  is  the 
deadly  enemy  of  Christ  and  you,  that  caused  his  death, 
and  will  cause  yours,  and  is  working  for  your  condem- 
nation, if  converting  and  pardoning  grace  prevent  it 
not.  And  are  you  loath  to  leave  it  ?  It  is  the  cause 
of  all  the  miseries  of  the  world,  of  all  the  sorrows  that 
ever  did  befall  you,  and  the  cause  of  the  damnation  of 
them  that  perish  ;  and  do  you  delay  to  part  with  it? 

4.  Your  delaying  shows  that  you  love  not  God,  and 
that  you  prefer  your  sin  before  him,  and  that  you 
would  never  part  \vith  it  if  you  could  have  your  will. 
For  if  you  loved  God,  you  would  long  to  be  restored 
to  his  favour,  and  to  be  near  him, and  employed  in  his 
service  and  his  family.  Love  is  quick  and  diligent, 
and  will  not  draw  back.  And  it  is  a  sign  also  that  you 
are  in  love  with  sin  :  f(>r  else,  why  should  you  be  so 
loath  to  leave  it  ?     He  that  would  not  leave  his  sin  and 


183  FIFTY    REASONS. 

turn  to  God,  till  the  next  week,  or  the  next  month,  or 
year,  would  never  turn  if  he  might  have  his  desire. 
For  that  which  makes  you  desirous  to  stay  a  day  or  a 
week  longer,  doth  indeed  make  you  loath  to  turn  at 
all.  And  therefore  it  is  but  hypocrisy  to  say,  that  you 
are  willing  to  turn  hereafter,  if  you  are  not  willing  to 
do  it  now  without  delay. 

5.  Consider,  what  a  case  you  are  in,  while  you  thus 
delay  ?  Do  you  think  you  stand  in  a  safe  condition  ? 
If  you  knew  where  you  are,  you  would  sit  as  upon 
thorns  as  long  as  you  are  unconverted  ;  you  would  be 
as  a  man  that  stood  up  to  the  knees  in  the  sea,  and  saw 
the  tide  coming  towards  him,  who  certainly  would 
think  that  there  is  no  standing  still  in  such  a  place. 
You  have  all  your  sin  unpardoned ;  you  are  under  the 
curse  of  the  law  ;  the  wrath  of  God  is  upon  you,  and 
the  iiilness  of  it  hangs  over  your  heads  ;  judgment  is 
coming  to  pass  upon  you  the  dreadful  doom ;  the  Lord 
is  at  haiid  ;  death  is  at  the  door,  and  waits  but  for  the 
word  from  the  mouth  of  God,  that  it  may  arrest  you, 
and  bring  you  to  everlasting  misery :  and  is  this  a  state 
for  a  man  to  continue  in? 

6.  Moreover,  Your  delaying  giveth  great  advantage 
to  the  Tempter.  If  you  would  presently  turn  and  for- 
sake your  sins,  and  enter  into  a  faithful  covenant  with 
God,  the  devil  would  be  almost  out  of  hope,  and  the 
very  heart  of  his  t  mptations  would  be  broken.  He 
would  see  that  now  it  is  too  late  ;  there  is  no  getting 
you  out  of  the  arms  of  Christ.  But  as  long  as  you 
delay,  you  keep  him  in  heart  and  hope ;  he  hath  time 
to  strengthen  his  prison  and  fetters,  and  to  renew  his 
snares  ;  and  if  one  temptation  serve  not,  he  hath  time 
to  try  another  and  another;  as  if  you  would  stand  as 
a  mark  for  Satan  to  shoot  at,  as  long  as  he  pleases. 
What  likelihood  is  there  that  ever  so  foolish  a  sinner 
should  be  recovered  and  saved  from  his  sin  ? 

7.  Moreover,  Your  delaying  is  a  vile  abuse  of  Christ 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  may  so  far  provoke  him,  as 
to  leave  you  to  yourself,  and  then  you  are  past  help. 
If  you  delight  so  to  trample  on  your  crucified  Lord, 
and  will  so  long  put  him  to  it  by  refusing  his  grace  and 


FIFTY    REASONS.  189 

grieving  his  Spirit,  what  can  you  expect  but  that  he 
should  turn  away  in  wrath,  and  utterly  forsake  you. 

8.  Consider,  also,  I  beseech  you,  if  you  ever  mean  to 
turn,  what  it  is  that  you  stay  for.  Do  you  thinii  to 
bring  down  Christ  and  heaven  to  your  own  terms,  and 
to  be  saved  liereafter  with  less  ado  ?  Sure,  you  can- 
not he  so  foolish :  for  God  will  be  still  the  same ;  and 
Christ  the  same  ;  and  his  promise  hath  still  the  same 
condition,  which  he  will  never  change ;  and  godliness 
will  be  the  same,  and  as  much  against  your  carnal  in- 
terest hereafter  as  it  is  now.  When  you  have  looked 
about  you  ever  so  long,  you  will  never  find  a  fairer  or 
nearer  way ;  but  this  same  way  you  must  go  or  perish. 
If  you  cannot  leave  sin  now,  how  shall  you  leave  it 
then  ?  It  will  still  be  as  sweet  to  your  flesh  as  now  : 
or  if  one  grow  stale  by  the  decay  of  nature,  another 
that  is  worse  will  spring  up  in  its  stead,  and  though 
the  acts  abate,  they  will  all  live  still  at  the  root ;  for 
sin  was  never  mortified  by  age.  So  that  if  ever  you 
will  turn,  you  may  best  turn  now. 

9.  Yea,  more  than  that,  the  longer  you  stay,  the 
harder  it  will  be.  If  it  be  hard  to-day,  it  is  like  to  be 
harder  to-morrow.  For  as  the  Spirit  of  Christ  is  like 
to  forsake  you  for  your  wilful  delays,  so  custom  will 
strengthen  sin :  and  custom  in  sinning  will  harden 
your  hearts,  and  make  you  "  past  feeling,  to  work 
all  uncleanness  with  greediness."  Cannot  you  crush 
this  serpent  w^hen  it  is  but  weak  :  and  can  you  en- 
counter it  in  its  serpentine  strength  ?  Cannot  you 
pluck  up  a  tender  plant ;  and  can  you  pluck  up  an  oak 
or  cedar?  O  sinners  I  what  do  you  mean,  to  make 
your  recovery  so  difficult  by  delay  ?  You  are  never 
like  to  be  fairer  for  heaven,  and  to  find  conversion  an 
easier  work,  than  now  you  may  do.  Will  you  stay 
till  the  work  be  ten  times  harder,  and  yet  do  you  think 
it  so  hard  already  ? 

10.  Consider,  also,  that  sin  gets  daily  victories  by 
your  delay.  We  lay  out  batteries  against  it,  and  preach, 
and  exhort,  and  pray  against  it,  and  it  gets  a  kind  of 
victory  over  all,  as  long  as  we  prevail  not  with  you  to 
turn.    It  conquereth  our  persuasions  and  advice  ;  it 


190  FIFTY   REASONS^. 

conquerelh  all  the  stirrings  of  your  consciences ;  it 
conquereth  all  your  heartless  purposes  and  deceitful 
promises.  And  these  frequent  conquests  strengthen 
your  sin,  and  weaken  your  resistance,  and  leave  the 
matter  almost  hopeless.  Before  a  physician  hath  used 
remedies,  he  hath  more  hope  of  a  cure,  than  when  he 
hath  tried  all  means,  and  finds  that  the  best  medicines 
do  no  good,  but  the  man  is  still  as  bad  or  worse.  So 
when  all  means  have  been  tried  with  you,  and  yet  you 
are  unconverted,  the  case  draws  towards  desperation 
itself:  the  very  means  are  disabled  more  than  before ; 
that  is,  your  hearts  are  harder  to  be  wrought  upon  by 
them.  When  you  have  long  been  under  sermons  and 
reading,  and  among  good  examples,  and  yet  you  are 
unconverted,  these  ordinances  lose  much  of  their  force 
with  you.  Custom  will  make  you  slight  them,  and  be 
dead-hearted  under  them.  And  it  is  these  very  same 
means  and  truths,  that  you  have  frustrated,  that  must 
do  the  work,  or  it  will  never  be  done. 

1 1.  Moreover,  age  itself  hath  many  inconveniences, 
and  youth  hath  many  great  advantages  :  and  therefore 
it  is  folly  to  delay.  In  age  the  understanding  and 
memory  grow  dull,  and  people  grow  incapable,  and 
almost  unchangeable.  We  see,  by  our  every  day's 
experience,  that  men  think  they  should  not  change 
when  they  are  old  ;  that  opinion  or  practice,  in  which 
they  have  been  brought  up,  they  think  they  should 
not  then  forsake.  To  learn  when  they  are  old,  and  to 
turn  when  they  are  old — you  see  how  much  they  are 
against  it.  Besides,  how  unfit  is  age  to  be  at  that 
pains  that  youth  can  undergo  ?  How  unfit  to  begin 
the  holy  warfare  against  the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the 
devil  ?  God's  way  is  to  Ust  his  soldiers  as  soon  as  may 
be,  when  in  youth ;  but  the  devil  will  persuade  them 
that  it  is  yet  too  soon ;  and  when  he  can  no  longer 
persuade  them  that  it  is  yet  too  soon,  he  will  then  per^ 
suade  that  it  is  too  late."  O  what  a  happy  thing  it  is 
to  come  to  God  betimes,  and  with  the  first !  What 
advantage  hath  youth  !  They  have  the  vigour  of  wit 
and  of  body ;  they  are  not  rooted  and  hardened  in  sin, 


FIFTY    REASONS.  191 

nor  filled  with  prejudice  and  obstinacy  against  godFiness, 
as  others  are. 

12.  You  have  such  times  of  advantage  and  encour- 
agement as  few  ages  of  the  world  have  ever  seen,  and 
few  nations  on  earth  enjoy  at  this  day.  What  plain 
and  plentiful  teaching  have  you  !  What  abundance  of 
good  examples,  and  the  society  of  the  godly  !  Private 
and  public  helps  are  common.  Seldom  has  the  church 
seen  such  days  on  earth.  And  yet  is  not  the  way  to 
heaven  fair  enough  for  you  ?  Yet  are  you  not  ready  to 
turn  to  God  ?  Will  you  delay  till  harvest  time  be  over, 
and  the  winter  of  persecution  come  again  ?  Have  you 
sun,  and  wind,  and  tide  to  serve  you,  and  will  you  stay 
to  set  out  in  storms  and  darkness  ? 

13.  Moreover,  Your  delay  doth  cast  your  conversion 
and  salvation  into  hazard,  yea,  into  many  and  grievous 
hazards.  And  is  your  everlasting  happiness  a  matter 
to  be  wilfully  hazarded,  by  causeless  and  unreasonable 
delays  ?  If  you  delay  to-day,  you  are  utterly  uncertain 
of  living  till  to-morrow.  If  you  put  by  this  one  mo- 
tion, you  know  not  whether  ever  you  may  have  another. 
You  know  not  Avhether  ever  the  Spirit  of  God  will  pu"" 
another  thought  of  turning  into  your  hearts  ;  or  at  least, 
whether  he  will  incline  your  hearts  to  turn. 

14.  Moreover,  the  delay  of  conversion  continueth 
your  sin,  and  so  you  will  daily  increase  their  number, 
and  increase  your  guilt,  and  make  your  souls  abun- 
dantly miserable.  Are  you  not  deep  enough  in  debt 
to  God  already,  and  have  you  not  sins  enough  to 
answer  for  upon  your  souls  ?  Would  you  fain  have 
one  year's  sins  more,  or  one  day's  sins  more,  to  be 
charged  upon  you  ?  O,  if  you  did  but  know  what  sin 
is,  it  would  amaze  you  to  think  what  a  mountain  lieth 
already  upon  your  consciences  !  One  sin  unpardoned 
will  sink  the  sinner  into  hell ;  and  you  have  many  a 
thousand  upon  your  souls  already,  and  would  you  yet 
have  more  ?  Methinks  you  should  rather  look  about 
you,  and  bethink  you  how  you  may  get  a  pardt^n  for 
all  that  is  past. 

15.  And  as  sin  increaseth  daily  by  delay,  so  conse- 
quently the  wrath  of  God  increaseth,  and  you  will  run 


192  FIFTY    REASONS. 

further  into  his  displeasure,  and  possibly  you  may  cut 
down  the  bough  that  you  stand  upon,  and  hasten 
destruction  to  yourselves.  When  you  live  daily  upon 
God,  and  are  kept  out  of  hell,  by  a  miracle  of  his  mercy, 
methinks  you  should  not  desire  yet  longer  to  provoke 
him,  lest  he  withdraw  his  meicy,  and  let  you  fall  into 
misery. 

16.  And  do  but  consider.  What  will  become  of  you 
if  ye  be  found  in  these  delays  ?  You  are  then  lost,  body 
and  soul,  for  ever.  Now  if  you  had  but  hearts  to  know 
what  is  good  for  you,  the  worst  of  you  might  be  con- 
verted and  saved  ;  for  God  doth  tieely  otier  you  his 
grace.  But  if  you  die  in  your  delays,  in  the  twinkling 
of  an  eye  you  will  find  yourselves  utterly  undone  for 
ever. 

17.  Consider,  That  your  very  time,  which  you  lose 
by  these  delays,  is  an  inconceivable  loss.  When  time 
is  gone,  what  would  you  then  give  for  one  of  those 
years,  or  days,  or  hours,  v/hich  you  now  fooli  hly  trifle 
away  ?  O  wTetched  sinners,  are  there  so  many  thou- 
sand souls  in  hell  that  would  give  a  world,  if  they  had 
it,  for  one  of  your  days  ;  and  yet  can  you  afford  to 
throw  them  away  in  worldliness,  and  sensuality,  and 
loitering  delays?  I  tell  you,  time  is  better  worth  than 
all  the  wealth  and  honours  of  the  world.  The  day  is 
coming  when  you  will  value  time :  when  it  is  gone 
you  will  know  what  a  blessing  you  made  light  of. 

18.  Consider  also,  that  God  hath  given  you  no  time 
to  spare.  He  hath  not  lent  you  one  day  or  hour,  more 
than  is  needful  for  the  work  that  you  have  to  do ; 
therefore  you  have  no  reason  to  lose  any  by  your 
delays.  Do  you  imagine  that  God  would  give  a  man 
an  hour's  time  for  nothing  ?  much  less  to  abuse  him 
and  serve  his  enemy.  No,  let  me  tell  you,  that  if  you 
make  your  best  of  every  hour,  if  you  should  never  lose 
a  moment  of  your  lives,  you  would  find  all  little  enough 
for  the  work  you  have  to  do.  I  know  not  how  others 
think  of  time,  but  for  my  part  I  am  forced  daily  to  say, 
How  swift,  how  short  is*^  time  !  And  how  great  is  our 
work !  And  when  we  have  done  our  best,  how  slowly 
it  goeth  on !    O  precious  time  !    What  hearts  have 


PIFTT   REASONS.  193 

they,  what  lives  do  those  men  lead,  that  think  time 
long !  That  have  time  to  spare,  and  to  pass  in  idle- 
ness ! 

1 9.  To  convince  }?ou  more,  Consider,  I  beseech  you, 
the  exceeding  greatness  of  the  work  you  have  to  do; 
and  tell  me  then,  whether  it  be  time  for  you  to  delay. 
Especially  you,  that  are  yet  unconverted,  and  strangers 
to  the  heavenly  nature  of  the  saints, — you  have  far 
more  to  do  than  other  men.  You  have  a  multitude  of 
headstrong  passions  to  subdue,  and  abundance  of 
deadly  sins  to  kill,  and  rooted  vices  to  root  up :  you 
have  a  false  opinion  of  God,  and  his  ways,  to  be  plucked 
up ;  and  the  customs  of  many  years'  standing  to  be 
broken  :  you  have  blind  minds  that  must  be  enlighten- 
ed \vith  heavenly  knowledge,  and  abundance  of  spiri- 
tual truths  that  are  above  the  reach  of  flesh  and  blood, 
that  you  must  needs  learn  and  understand  :  you  have 
much  to  know,  that  is  hard  to  be  known  :  you  have  a 
dead  soul  to  be  made  alive,  and  a  hard  heart  to  be 
melted ;  and  a  seared  conscience  to  be  softened,  and 
made  tender ;  and  the  guilt  of  many  thousand  sins  to 
be  pardoned  :  you  have  a  new  heart  to  get,  and  a  new 
end  to  aim  at,  and  seek  after,  and  a  new  life  to  live  ; 
abundance  of  enemies  you  have  to  fight  with,  and 
overcome ;  abundance  of  temptations  to  resist  and 
conquer ;  many  graces  to  get,  and  preserve,  and  exer- 
cise, and  increase  ;  and  abundance  of  holy  work  to  do 
for  the  service  of  God,  and  the  good  of  yourselves  and 
others.  O  what  a  deal  of  work  doth  every  one  of 
these  words  contain !  And  yet  what  abundance  more 
might  I  name  1  And  have  you  all  this  to  do,  and  yet 
will  you  delay  ?  And  they  are  not  indifferent  matters 
that  are  before  you :  it  is  no  less  than  the  saving  of 
your  souls,  and  obtaining  the  blessed  glory  of  the  saints. 
Necessity  is  upon  you.  These  are  things  that  must  be 
done,  or  else  woe  to  you  that  ever  you  were  born ! 
And  yet  have  you  another  day  to  lose  ?  Why,  sirs, 
if  you  had  a  hundred  miles  to  go  in  a  day  or  two,  upon 
pain  of  death,  would  you  delay?  O  think  of  the  work 
that  you  have  to  do,  and  then  judge  whether  it  be  not 
time  to  stir  f 

17 


194  FIFTY   REASONS. 

20.  And  methinks  it  should  exceedingly  terrify  you 
to  consider,  What  multitudes  perish  by  such  delays; 
and  how  few  that  wilfully  delay,  are  ever  converted 
and  saved !  Many  a  soul,  that  once  had  purposes 
hereafter  to  repent,  is  now  in  the  misery  where  there 
is  no  repentance  that  will  do  them  any  good.  For  my 
part,  though  I  have  known  some  very  few  converted 
when  they  were  old  ;  yet  I  must  needs  say,  both  that 
they  were  very  few  indeed,  and  I  had  reason  to  believe, 
that  they  were  such  as  had  sinned  before  in  ignorance, 
and  did  not  wilfully  put  off  repentance,  when  they  were 
convinced  that  they  must  turn.  Though  I  doubt  not 
but  God  may  convert  even  these  if  he  please,  yet  I 
cannot  say  that  I  have  ever  known  many,  if  any  such, 
to  be  converted.  Sure  I  am  that  God's  usual  time  is 
in  childhood,  or  youth,  before  they  have  long  abused 
grace,  and  wilfully  delayed  to  turn  when  they  wxre 
convinced.  Some  considerable  time,  I  confess,  may 
have  elapsed  before  their  first  convictions  and  purposes 
be  brought  to  any  great  ripeness  of  performance  :  but 
O  how  dangerous  it  is  to  delay  ! 

21.  Consider,  also.  Either  conversion  is  good  or  bad 
for  you  ;  either  it  is  needful  or  unnecessary.  If  it  be  bad, 
and  a  needless  thing,  then  let  it  alone  altogether.  But 
if  you  are  convinced  that  it  is  good  and  necessary,  is  it 
not  better  now  than  to  stay  any  longer  ?  Is  it  not  the 
sooner  the  belter  ?  Are  you  afraid  of  being  safe  or  hap- 
py too  soon  ?  If  you  are  sick,  you  care  not  how  soon 
you  are  well ;  if  you  have  a  bone  out,  you  care  not  how 
soon  it  is  set ;  if  you  fall  into  the  Avater,  you  care  not 
how  soon  you  get  out ;  if  your  house  be  on  fire,  you 
care  not  how  soon  it  be  quenched ;  if  you  are  put  in 
fear  by  any  doubts  or  ill  tidings,  you  care  not  how  soon 
your  fears  be  over.  And  yet  are  you  afraid  of  being 
too  soon  out  of  the  power  of  the  devil,  and  the  danger 
of  hell ;  and  of  being  too  soon  the  sons  of  God,  and  the 
holy,  justified  heirs  of  heaven  ? 

22.  Consider,  also.  Either  you  can  turn  now,  or  not. 
If  you  can  and  yet  will  not,  you  are  utterly  without 
excuse.  If  you  cannot  to-day,  how  much  less  will  you 
be  able  hereafter,  when  strength  is  less,  and  difficulties 


FIFTY    REASONS.  195 

greater,  and  burdens  more?  Is  it  not  time,  therefore, 
to  apply  to  Christ  for  strength  ;  and  should  not  the  very- 
sense  of  your  inability  dissuade  you  from  delay? 

23.  Consider  how  long  you  have  stayed  already, 
and  put  God's  patience  to  it  by  your  folly.  Have  not 
the  devil,  the  world,  and  the  flesh,  had  many  years'  time 
of  your  life  already?  Have  you  not  long  enough  been 
swallowing  the  poison  of  sin  ;  and  long  enough  been 
abusing  the  Lord  that  made  you  ;  and  the  blood  of  the 
Son  of  God  that  was  shed  for  you;  and  the  Spirit  of 
grace,  that  hath  moved  and  persuaded  you  ?  Are  you 
not  yet  gone  far  enough  from  God  ?  And  have  you  not 
yet  done  enough  to  the  destroying  of  yourselves,  and 
casting  away  everlasting  Ufe  ?  O  wretched  sinners  !  it 
is  rather  time  for  you  to'fall  down  on  your  faces  before 
the  Lord,  and  with  tears  and  groans  to  lament  it  day 
and  night,  that  ever  you  have  gone  so  far  in  sin,  and 
delayedso  long  to  turn  to  him  as  you  have  done. 
Sure,  if  after  so  many  years'  rebellion,  you  are  yet  so 
far  from  lamenting  it,  that  you  had  rather  have  more 
of  it,  and  had  rather  hold  on  a  little  longer,  no  wonder 
if  God  forsake  you,  and  let  you  alone. 

24.  Have  you  any  hopes  of  God's  acceptance  and 
your  salvation,  or  not?  If  you  have  such  hopes, — that, 
when  you  turn,  God  will  pardon  all  your  sins,  and  give 
you  everlasting  life, — is  it,  think  you,  an  ingenuous 
thing  to  desire  to  offend  him  yet  a  little  longer,  from 
whom  you  expect  such  exceeding  mercy  and  glory  ? 
Have  you  the  faces  to  speak  out  what  is  in  your  hearts 
and  practice;  and  to  go  to  God  with  such  words  as 
these  ?  '  Lord,  I  know  I  cannot  have  the  pardon  of  one 
sin  without  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  the  riches  of  thy 
mercy.  Nor  can  I  be  saved  from  hell  without  it  :  but 
yet  I  hope  for  all  this  from  thy  grace.  I  beseech  thee 
let  me  live  a  little  longer  in  my  sins  ;  a  little  longer  let 
me  trample  on  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  despise  thy 
commandments,  and  abuse  thy  mercies  ;  and  then  par- 
don me  all  that  ever  I  did,  and  take  me  into  glory.' — 
Could  you  for  shame  put  such  a  request  to  God  as  this? 
If  you  could,  you  are  past  shame :  if  not,  then  do  not 


196  FIFTY    REASONS. 

practise  and  desire  that  which  you  cannot,  for  shame, 
speak  out  and  request. 

25.  Moreover,  It  is  an  exceedino^  advantage  to  you 
to  come  to  God  betimes ;  and  an  exceeding  loss,  that 
you  will  suffer  by  delaj'^,  if  you  were  sure  to  be  con- 
verted at  the  last.  If  you  speedily  come  in,  you  may 
have  time  to  learn,  and  get  more  understanding  in  the 
matters  of  God,  than  otherwise  can  be  expected.  For 
knowledge  will  not  be  had  but  by  time  and  study.  You 
may  also  have  time  to  get  strength  of  grace,  when  be- 
ginners can  expect  no  more  than  infant  strength.  You 
may  grow  to  be  men  of  parts  and  abilities,  to  be  useful 
in  the  church,  and  profitable  to  those  about  you,  when 
others  cannot  go  or  stand,  unless  they  lean  on  the 
stronger  for  support.  If  you  come  in  betimes,  you  may 
do  God  service ;  which,  in  the  evening  of  the  day,  you 
will  neither  have  strength  nor  time  to  do.  You  may 
have  time  to  get  assurance  of  salvation,  and  to  be 
ready  with  comfort,  when  death  shall  call;  when  a 
weakling  is  Uke  to  be  perplexed  with  doubts  and 
fears,  and  death  is  like  to  be  terrible,  because  of  their 
unreadiness. 

26.  And  did  you  ever  consider,  who  and  how  many 
stay  for  you  while  you  delay  ?  Do  you  know  who  it  is 
that  you  make  to  wait  your  leisure  ?  God  himself  stands 
over  you  with  the  offers  of  his  mercy,  as  if  he  thought 
it  long  till  you  return,  saying,  "  O  that  there  were  such 
a  heart  in  them !"  and  "  when  will  it  once  be  !"  "  How 
long,  ye  simple  ones,  will  ye  love  simplicity,  and 
scorners  delight  in  scorning,  and  fools  hate  knowledge  •* 
Turn  ye  at  my  reproof"  And  do  you  think  it  wise,  or 
safe,  for  you  to  make  the  God  of  heaven  wait  on  you, 
while  you  are  serving  his  enemy  ?  Can  you  offer  God 
a  baser  indignity,  than  to  expect  he  should  support 
your  lives,  and  feed  you,  and  preserve  you,  and  pa- 
tiently forbear  while  you  abuse  him  to  his  face,  and 
drudge  for  the  flesh,  the  world,  and  the  devil?  Should 
a  worm  thus  use  the  Lord  that  made  him,  marvel  not. 
If  he  withdraw  his  supporting  mercy,  and  let  such 
wretches  drop  into  hell ! 

Aud  it  is  not  God  only,  but  his  servants,  and  crea- 


flPTy  REASONS.  197 

tures,  and  ordinances,  that,  are  all  waiting  on  you.  The 
angels  stay  for  the  joy  that  is  due  to  them  upon  your 
conversion.  Ministers  are  studying,  and  preaching, 
and  praying  for  you  ;  godly  neighbours  are  praying, 
and  longing  for  your  change.  The  springs  and  rivers 
are  flowing  for  you  ;  the  winds  blow  for  you  ;  the  sun 
shines  for  you  ;  the  clouds  rain  for  you  ;  the  earth 
bears  fruit  for  you  ;  the  beasts  must  labour,  and  suffer, 
and  die  for  you ;  all  things  are  doing,  and  would  you 
stand  still  or  else  do  worse  ?  What  haste  makes  the 
sun  about  the  world,  to  return  in  its  time  to  give  you 
light !  What  haste  make  other  creatures  in  your  ser- 
vice !  And  yet  must  you  delay?  Must  God  stay,  and 
Christ  and  the  Spirit  stay?  Must  angels  stay,  must 
ministers  stay,  must  the  godly  stay,  and  the  ordinances 
stay,  and  all  the  creatures  stay  your  leisure,  while  you 
are  abusing  God,  and  your  souls,  and  others,  and  while 
you  delay,  as  if  it  were  too  soon  to  turn  ? 

27.  Consider,  That  when  you  were  lost,  the  Son  of 
God  did  not  delay  the  work  of  redemption.  He  pre- 
sently undertook  it,  and  turned  by  the  stroke  of  con- 
demning justice.  In  the  fullness  of  time  he  came  and 
performed  what  he  undertook  ;  he  failed  not  one  day 
of  his  appointed  time.  And  Avill  you  now  delay  to  ac- 
cept the  benefit  and  to  turn  to  him  ?  Must  he  make 
such  haste  to  save  you  at  so  dear  a  rate,  and  now  will 
you  delay  to  be  saved  ? 

28  Moreover,  God  doth  not  delay  to  do  you  good. 
You  have  the  day  and  night  in  their  proper  seasons  ; 
the  sun  doth  not  fail  to  rise  upon  you  at  the  appointed 
time ;  you  have  the  spring  and  harvest  in  their  proper 
seasons ;  the  former  and  the  latter  rain  in  season. 
When  you  are  in  want,  you  have  seasonable  supplies  ; 
and  when  you  are  in  danger,  you  have  seasonable  de- 
hverances.  And  is  it  meet  or  equal  that  you  should 
refuse  to  bring  forth  seasonable  fruit,  but  still  be  put- 
ting off  God  with  your  delays  ? 

29.  Moreover,  When  you  are  in  trouble  and  neces- 
sity, you  are  then  in  haste  for  deliverance  and  relief. 
Then  you  think  every  day  a  week,  till  your  danger  or 
sutfering  be  past.    If  you  be  under  the  pain  of  a  dis- 

17* 


108  FIFTY   REASONS. 

ease,  or  in  danger  of  death,  or  under  poverty,  or  op- 
pression, or  disgrace,  you  would  have  God  reheve  you 
without  delay  ;  and  yet  you  will  not  turn  to  him  with- 
out delay.  Then  you  are  ready  to  cry  out, '  How  long, 
Lord,  how  long  till  deliverance  come?'  But  you  will 
not  hear  God,  w^hen  he  crieth  to  you,  in  your  sins- 
How  long  will  it  be  ere  you  turn  from  your  transgres- 
sions ?  When  shall  it  once  be  ?  When  you  are  to  re- 
ceive any  outward  deliverance,  you  care  not  how  soon ; 
but  when  you  are  to  turn  to  God,  and  receive  his  grace 
and  title  to  glory,  then  you  care  not  how  late,  as  if  you 
had  no  mind  of  it.  Can  you,  for  shame,  beg  of  God  to 
hasten  your  deliverance,  when  you  remember  your 
delays,  and  still  continue  to  trifle  with  him  and  draw 
back? 

30.  Your  present  prosperity,  and  worldly  delights, 
are  passing  away  without  delay  ;  and  should  you  de- 
lay to  make  sure  of  better  in  their  stead  ?  Time  is 
going;  and  health  is  going;  youth  is  going;  yea,  life 
is  going ;  your  riches  are  taking  wing ;  your  fleshly 
pleasures  do  perish  in  the  very  using.  Shortly  you 
must  part  with  house  and  lands,  with  goods  and  friends ; 
and  all  your  mirth  and  earthly  business  will  be  done. 
All  this  you  know,  and  yet  will  you  delay  to  lay  up  a 
durable  treasure,  which  you  may  trust  upon,  and  to 
provide  you  abetter  tenement  before  you  be  turned  out 
of  this?  What  will  you  do  for  a  habitation,  for  plea- 
sures and  contents,  when  all  that  you  have  now  is 
spent  and  gone,  and  earth  w^ill  afford  you  nothing  but 
a  grave?  If  you  could  but  keep  that  you  have,  I  should 
not  much  wonder,  that  knowing  so  little  of  God  and 
another  world,  you  look  not  much  after  it ;  but  when 
you  perceive  death  knocking  at  your  doors,  and  seeing 
all  your  worldly  comforts  are  packing  up  and  hasting 
away,  methinks  you  should  presently  turn,  and  make 
sure  of  heaven,  without  any  more  delay. 

31.  Consider,  also.  Whether  it  be  equal  that  you 
should  delay  your  conversion,  when  you  can  season- 
ably despatch  your  worldly  business ;  and  when  your 
flesh  would  be*^  provided  for,  you  can  hearken  to  it 
without  delay.  You  have  wit  enough  to  sow  your  seed 


FIFTY    REASONS.  199 

in  season,  and  will  not  delay  it  till  the  time  of  harvest. 
You  will  reap  your  corn  when  it  is  ripe,  and  gather 
your  fruit  when  it  is  ripe,  without  delay.  You  observe 
the  seasons  in  the  course  of  your  labours,  day  by  day, 
and  year  by  year.  You  will  not  lie  in  bed,  when  you 
■should  be  at  your  work,  nor  delay  all  night  to  go  to  your 
rest  ;  nor  suffer  your  servants  to  delay  your  business. 
If  you  be  sick,  you  will  seek  help  without  delay,  lest 
your  disease  should  grow  to  be  incurable.  And  yet 
will  you  delay  your  conversion,  and  the  making  sure 
of  heaven  ?  Why,  sirs,  shall  these  trifles  be  done  with- 
out delay,  and  shall  your  salvation  be  put  off?  Can  you 
have  time  for  every  thing,  except  that  one  thing  which 
all  the  rest  are  merely  to  promote,  and  in  comparison 
of  which  they  are  all  but  dreams  ?  Can  you  have  time 
to  work,  to  plough,  and  sow,  and  reap,  and  cannot  you 
have  time  to  prepare  for  eternal  life  ?  Why,  sirs,  if  you 
cannot  find  time  yet  to  search  your  hearts,  to  turn  to 
God,  and  prepare  for  death,  give  over  eating  and 
drinking,  and  sleeping,  and  say,  you  cannot  have  time 
for  these.  You  may  as  wisely  say  so  for  these  smaller 
matters,  as  for  the  greater. 

31.  Moreover,  if  men  offer  you  conveniences  and 
commodities  for  your  bodies,  you  will  not  stand  delay- 
ing, and  need  so  many  persuasions  to  accept  them.  If 
your  landlord  would  for  nothing  renew  your  lease ;  if 
any  man  would  give  you  houses  or  lands,  would  you 
delay  so  long  before  you  would  accept  them  ?  A  beggar 
at  your  door  will  not  only  thankfully  take  your  alms, 
without  your  entreaty  and  importunity,  but  will  beg 
for  it,  and  be  importunate  with  you  to  give  it.  And 
yet  will  you  delay  to  accept  the  blessed  offers  of  grace, 
which  are  so  much  greater  ? 

33.  Yet  consider,  that  it  is  God  that  is  the  giver,  and 
you  that  are  the  miserable  beggars  and  receivers.  And 
therefore  it  is  fitter  you  should  wait  on  God  and  call  on 
him  for  his  grace,  when  lie  seemeth  to  delay,  and  not 
that  he  should  wait  on  you.  He  can  live  without  your 
receiving,  but  you  cannot  live  without  his  giving.  The 
beggar  must  be  glad  of  an  alms  at  any  time;  and  the 
condenined  person  of  a  pardon  at  any  time  ;  but  the 


200  FIFTY   REASONS* 

giver  may  well  expect  thai  his  gifts  be  received  with- 
out delay,  or  else  he  may  let  them  go  without. 

34.  And  methinks  you  should  not  deal  worse  with 
God,  when  he  comes  to  you  as  a  physician  to  save  your 
own  souls,  than  you  would  do  with  a  neighbour,  or  a 
friend,  when  it  is  not  for  your  own  good,  but  for  theirs. 
If  your  neighbour  lay  a  dying,  you  would  go  and  visit 
him  without  delay.  If  he  fell  down  in  a  swoon,  you 
would  catch  him 'up  without  delay.  If  he  fell  into  the 
fire  or  water,  you  would  pluck  him  out  without  delay. 
Yea,  you  would  do  thus  much  to  a  very  beast.  And 
yet  will  you  delay,  when  it  is  not  another,  but  your- 
selves that  are  sinking  and  drowning,  and  within  a  step 
of  death  and  desperation? 

35.  If  yet  you  perceive  not  how  unreasonably  you 
deal  with  God  and  your  souls,  I  beseech  you,  consider, 
whether  you  do  not  deal  worse  with  him  than  you  do 
with  the  devil  himself.  If  Satan  or  his  servants  per- 
suade 5^ou  to  sin,  you  delay  not  so  long  but  you  are 
presently  at  it.  You  are  ready  to  follow  every  tippling 
companion  or  gamester  that  puts  up  the  finger.  You 
are  as  willing  to  go,  as  they  are  to  invite  you.  The  very 
sight  of  the  cup  does  presently  prevail  with  the  drunk- 
ard ;  and  the  sight  of  a  harlot  prevaileth  with  the  for- 
nicator ;  and  sin  can  be  presently  entertained  without 
delay.  But  when  God  comes,  when  Christ  calleth, 
when  the  Spirit  moveth,  when  the  minister  persuadeth, 
when  conscience  is  convinced,  we  can  have  nothing 
but  wishes,  and  purposes,  and  promises  with  delays. 

Nay,  more  than  tliis  :  so  eager  are  they  on  their  sin, 
that  we  are  not  able  to  entreat  them  to  delay  it.  When 
the  passionate  man  is  but  provoked,  we  cannot  per- 
suade him  to  delay  his  raiUng  language,  so  long  as  to  con- 
sider first  of  the  issue.  We  cannot  entreat  the  drunkard 
to  put  off  his  drunkenness  but  for  one  twelve  months, 
while  he  trieth  another  course.  All  the  ministers  in 
the  country  cannot  persuade  the  worldling  to  forbear 
his  worldlincss,  and  the  proud  persons  their  pride,  and 
the  ungodly  person  his  ungodliness,  for  the  space  of  one 
month,  or  week,  or  day.    And  yet  when  God  hath  a 


FIFTY   REASONS.  201 

command  and  a  request  to  them,  to  turn  to  him  and  be 
saved,  here  they  can  delay,  without  our  entreaty. 

36.  Consider  also,  that  it  is  not  possible  for  you  to 
turn  too  soon:  nor  will  you  ever  have  cause  to  repent 
of  your  speediness.  Delay  may  undo  you  ;  but  speedy 
turning  can  do  you  no  harm.  Should  there  be  any 
delay,  where  it  is  not  possible  to  be  too  hasty  ?  Do  you 
think  that  there  is  ever  a  saint  in  heaven,  yea,  or  on 
earth,  that  is  sorry  he  continued  not  longer  unconvert- 
ed ?  No :  you  shall  never  hear  of  such  a  repentance 
from  the  mouth  of  any  that  is  indeed  converted. 

37.  But  I  must  tell  you  on  the  contrary,  that  if  ever 
you  be  so  happy  as  to  be  converted,  you  will  repent  it, 
and  a  hundred  times  repent  it,  that  you  delayed  so  long 
before  you  yielded.  O,  how  it  will  grieve  you,  when 
your  hearts  are  melted  with  the  love  of  God,  and  are 
overcome  with  the  infinite  kindness  of  his  pardoning, 
saving  grace,  that  ever  you  had  the  hearts  to  abuse  such 
a  God,  and  deal  so  unkindly  with  him,  and  stand  out  so 
long  against  that  compassion  that  was  seeking  your  sal 
vation  !  O,  how  it  will  grieve  your  hearts,  to  consider 
that  you  have  spent  so  much  of  your  lives  in  sin,  for 
the  devil,  and  the  flesh,  and  the  deceitful  world !  O, 
you  will  think  with  yourselves,  '  Was  not  God  more 
worthy  of  my  youthful  days  ?  Had  I  not  better  have 
spent  them  in  his  service,  and  in  the  work  of  my  sal- 
vation? Alas,  that  I  should  waste  such  precious  days, 
and  now  be  so  far  behindhand  as  I  am  !  Now  I  want 
that  faith,  that  hope,  that  love,  that  peace,  that  assur- 
ance, that  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  I  might  have 
had,  if  I  had  spent  those  years  for  God,  which  I  spent 
in  the  service  of  the  world  and  the  flesh.' 

38.  And  I  pray  you,  consider  whether  it  belongs 
of  right  to  God  or  you,  to  determine  of  the  day  and 
hour  of  your  coming  in.  It  is  he  that  must  give  you 
the  pardon  of  your  sins ;  and  doth  it  not  belong  to 
him  to  appoint  the  time  of  your  receiving  it?  You  can- 
not have  Christ  and  life  without  him :  it  is  he  that 
must  give  you  the  kingdom  of  heaven  :  and  is  he  not 
worthy,  then,  to  appoint  the  time  of  your  conversion, 


S02  FIFTY   REASONS. 

that  you  may  be  made  partakers  of  it?    But  if  he  say, 
To-day,  dare  you  say,  I  will  stay  till  to-morrow  ? 

39.  Nay,  consider,  whether  God  or  you  he  hkeUer 
to  know  the  meetest  time.  Dare  you  say  that  you 
know  better  when  to  turn  than  God  doth  ?  I  suppose 
you  dare  not;  and  if  you  dare  not  say  so,  for  shame, 
let  not  your  practice  say  so.  God  saith,  "  To-day, 
while  it  is  called  to-day,  hear  my  voice,  and  harden 
not  your  hearts."  And  dare  you  say,  It  is  better  to 
stay  one  month  longer,  or  one  day  longer  •/  God  saith, 
"  Behold,  this  is  the  accepted  time  !  Behold,  this  is 
the  day  of  salvation  !"  And  will  you  say.  It  is  time 
enough  to-morrow  ?  Do  you  know  better  than  God  .•' 
If  your  physician  do  but  tell  you  in  a  pleurisy  or  a 
fever.  You  must  let  blood  this  day — before  to-morrow ; 
you  have  so  much  reason  as  to  submit  to  his  under- 
standing, and  think  that  he  knows  better  than  you  : 
and  cannot  you  allow  as  much  to  the  God  of  wisdom  ? 

40.  Consider,  also,  that  the  speediness  of  your  con- 
version, when  God  first  calls  you,  doth  make  you  the 
more  welcome,  and  is  a  thing  exceedingly  pleasing  to 
God.  Our  proverb  is,  A  speedy  gift  is  a  double  gift. 
If  you  ask  any  thing  of  a  friend,  and  hegivs  it  you  pre- 
sently and  cheerfully  at  the  first  asking,  you  will  think 
you  have  it  with  a  good-will ;  but  if  he  stand  long 
delaying  first,  and  demurring  upon  it,  you  will  think 
that  you  have  it  with  an  ill-will,  and  that  you  owe  him 
the  smaller  thanks.  If  a  very  beggar  at  your  door 
must  stay  long  for  an  alms,  he  will  think  he  is  the  less 
beholden  to  you.  How  much  more  may  God  be  dis- 
pleased, when  he  must  stay  so  long  for  his  own,  and 
that  for  your  benefit  1  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver, 
and  consequently,  a  cheerful  obeyer  of  his  call ;  and 
if  it  be  hearty  and  cheerful,  it  is  the  likelier  to  be 
speedy,  Avithout  such  delays. 

41.  And  I  would  desire  you  but  to  do  with  God  as 
you  would  be  done  by.  Would  you  take  it  well  of  your 
children,  if  they  should  tear  all  their  clothes,  and  cast 
their  meat  to  the  dogs,  and  tread  it  in  the  dirt,  and 
when  you  entreat  them,  they  will  not  regard  you.? 
Would  you  stand  month  after  month  entreating  and 


FirTV   REASONS.  203 

waiting  on  them,  as  God  doth  on  you?  If  your  ser- 
vant will  spend  the  whole  day  and  year  in  drinking  and 
playing,  when  he  should  do  your  work,  will  you  wait 
on  him  all  the  year  with  entreaties,  and  pay  him  at 
last,  as  if  he  had  served  you  ?  And  can  you  expect 
that  God  should  deal  so  with  you  ? 

42.  And  consider,  I  entreat  you,  that  j^our  delay  is  a 
denial,  and  so  may  God  interpret  it ;  for  the  time  of 
your  turning  is  part  of  the  command.  He  that  saith. 
Turn,  saith.  Now,  even  to-day,  without  delay.  He 
giveth  you  no  longer  day.  If  time  be  lengthened,  and 
the  offer  made  again  and  again,  that  is  more  than  he 
promised  you,  or  you  could  have  promised  yourselves. 
His  command  is,  Now  return  and  live.  And  if  you 
refuse  the  time,  the  present  time,  you  refuse  the  offer, 
and  forfeit  the  benefit.  And  if  you  knew  but  what  it 
is  to  give  God  a  denial  in  such  a  case  as  this,  and  what 
a  case  you  were  in,  if  he  should  turn  away  in  wrath 
and  never  come  near  you  more  ;  you  would  then  be 
afraid  of  jesting  with  his  hot  displeasure,  or  trifling 
with  the  Lord. 

43.  And,  methinks,  you  should  remember,  that  God 
does  not  stay  thus  on  all,  as  he  doth  on  you.  Thou- 
sands are  under  despair,  and  past  all  remedy,  while 
patience  is  waiting  yet  upon  you.  Can  you  foiget  that 
others  are  in  hell  at  this  very  hour,  for  as  small  sins  as 
those  that  you  are  yet  entangled  and  linger  in  ?  Good 
Lord,  what  a  thing  is  a  senseless  heart!  That  at  the 
same  time  when  millions  are  in  misery,  for  dt  laying  or 
refusing  to  be  converted,  their  successors  should  fear- 
lessly venture  in  their  steps  ! 

44.  And  I  must  tell  you,  that  God  will  not  always 
thus  wait  on  you,  and  attend  you  by  his  patience,  as 
hitherto  he  hath  done.  Patience  hath  his  appointed 
time.  And  if  you  out-stay  that  time,  you  are  misera- 
ble. I  can  assure  you,  sirs,  the  glass  is  turned  upon 
you,  and  when  it  is  run  out,  you  shall  never  have  an 
hour  of  patience  more.  Then  God  will  no  more  en- 
treat you  to  be  converted.  He  will  not  always  stand 
over  you  with  salvation,  and  say,  O  that  this  sinner 
would  repent  and  live!     O  that   he  would  take  the 


204  FIFTY   REASONS. 

mercies  that  I  have  provided  ibr  him  !  Do  not  expect 
that  God  should  do  this  always  with  you  ;  for  it  will 
not  be. 

45.  Your  delays  weary  the  servants  of  Christ  that 
are  employed  for  your  recovery.  Ministers  will  grow 
weary  of  preaching  to  you,  and  persuading  you.  When 
we  come  to  men  that  were  never  warned  before,  we 
come  in  hopes  that  they  will  hear  and  obey ;  and  this 
hope  puts  life  and  earnestness  into  our  persuasions  :  but 
when  we  have  persuaded  men  but  a  few  times  in  vain, 
and  leave  them  as  we  found  them,  our  spirits  begin  to 
droop  and  flag ;  much  more,  when  we  have  preached 
and  persuaded  you  many  years,  and  still  you  are  the 
same,  and  are  but  where  you  were, — this  dulls  a 
minister's  spirit,  and  makes  him  preach  heavily  and 
coldly,  when  he  is  almost  out  of  heart  and  hope. 

Truly,  sirs,  I  must  tell  you,  for  my  own  part,  that 
11'  it  had  not  been  for  those  that  gave  me  better  en- 
couragement by  their  obedience,  I  should  never  have 
held  out  with  you  a  quarter  of  this  time.  If  all  had 
profited  as  little  as  some,  and  all  remained  in  an  un- 
converted state  as  some ;  if  the  humble,  penitent, 
obedient  ones  among  you,  had  not  been  my  com- 
fort and  encouragement  under  Christ,  I  had  been 
gone  from  you  many  years  ago ;  I  could  never  have 
held  out  till  now :  either  my  corruption  would  have 
made  me  run  away,  with  Jonah,  or  my  judgment 
would  have  commanded  me  to  shake  off  the  dust  off 
my  feet  as  a  witness  against  you,  and  depart. 

But  to  what  end  do  I  speak  all  this  to  you  ?  To 
what  end?  Why,  to  let  you  see  how  you  abuse 
both  God  and  man,  by  your  delays  and  disobedience. 
You  cannot  possibly  do  us,  that  are  your  teachers, 
a  greater  injury  or  mischief  in  the  world.  It  is  not 
in  your  power  to  wrong  us  more.  Are  our  studies 
and  our  labours  worth  nothing  ?  Are  our  watchings 
and  waitings  worth  nothing  ?  Are  our  prayers,  and 
tears,  and  groans,  to  be  despised  ?  God  will  not  de- 
spise them,  if  you  do ;  believe  it,  he  will  set  them 
all  on  your  account,  and  you  will  one  day  have  a 
heavy  reckoning  of  them,  and  pay  full  dear  for  thenj. 


FIFTY    REASONS.  205 

Is  it  equal  dealing  with  us,  that  when  we  are  watch- 
ing for  your  souls,  as  men  that  know  we  must  oive 
an  account,  you  should  rob   us  of  our  comfort,  "and 
make  us  do  it  with   sighs    and   sorrow?     Yea,  that 
you  should    undo  all    that  we    are  doing,  and  make 
us  lose  our  labour  and  our  hopes  ?    And  yet  do  you 
not  think    to  pay    for  this?     Many   years  we   have 
been  persuading  you  but  to  turn  and  live,  and  yei  you 
are  unturned;  you  have  been    convinced  long,  and 
thmkingon  it;  and  wishing  lonor,  and  talking°of  it; 
and  promising  long,  and  yet  it  is^undone,  and  "here  is 
nothing  but  delays.     We  see,  while  you  delay,  death 
takes  away  one  this  week,  and  another  the  next  week, 
and  you  are  passing  into  the  other  world  apace ;  and 
yet  tho^e  that  are  left  behind  will  take  no  warnino-,  but 
still  delay :  we  see  that  Satan  delays  not  while  you 
delay ;  he  is  day  and  night  at  work  against  you :  if  he 
seem  to  make  a  truce  with  you,  it  is  that  he  may  be 
doing  secretly,  while  you  suspect  him  not ;  we  see  that 
sin  delayeth  not  while  you  delay ;  it  is  working  like 
poison  or  infection  in  your  bodies,  and  seizing'^upon 
your  vital  powers ;  it  is  every  day  blinding  you  more 
and   more,   it   is    hardening   your   hearts  more   and 
more,    and  searing  your   consciences,   to  bring  you 
past  all  feeling  and  hope.     And  must  we  stand  by  and 
see  this  miserable  work  with  our  people's  souls,  and  all 
be  frustrated  and  rejected  by  themselves  that  we  do  for 
their  deliverance  ?     I  pray  you  deal  but  fairlv  with  us, 
and  tell  us  whether  ever  you  will  turn  or  no't.     If  you 
will  not,  but  are  resolved'for  sin  and  hell,  sav  so,  that 
we  may  know  the  worst ;  speak  out  your  minds,  that 
we  may  know  what  to  trust  to.     But  if  still  you  say, 
you  will  turn— when  will  you  do  it?     You  will  do  it, 
and  you  hope  you  shall :  but  when  r  How  long  would 
you  have  us  wait  yet  ?     Nay,  I  must  tell  you,  tTiat  you 
even  weary  God  himself     It  is  his  own  expression, 
(Mai.  ii.  17.  Isa.  xliii.  24.)     "  Thou  hast  wearied  me 
with  thine  iniquities."     (Isa.  i.  14.)     And  I  must  sav 
to  you  as  the  Prophet,  (Isa.  vii.  13.)  "  Is  it  a  small  thing 
^or  you  to  weary    men,   but  you  will  weary  my  God 
also  ?"     Consider  what  it  is  that  you  do. 

18 


^06  FIFTY    REASONS. 

46.  Consider,  also,  that  you  are  at  a  constant  and 
unspeakable  loss  every  day  and  hour  that  you  delay 
your  conversion.  O !  little  do  you  know  what  you 
deprive  yourselves  of  every  day.  If  a  slave  in  the 
galleys  or  prison  might  live  at  court,  as  a  favourite  of 
the  prince,  in  honour,  and  delight,  and  ease,  would  he 
delay  either  years  or  hours  ?  Or  would  he  not  rather 
think  within  himself,  Is  it  not  better  to  be  at  ease  and 
in  honour,  than  to  be  here  ?  As  the  prodigal  said, 
"  How  many  hired  servants  of  my  father  have  bread 
enough  and  to  spare,  and  I  perish  with  hunger!"  All 
this  while  I  might  be  in  plenty  and  delight. — All  the 
while  that  you  live  in  sin,  you  might  be  in  favour  of 
God,  in  the  high  and  heavenly  employments  of  the 
saints  ;  you  might  have  the  comfoits  of  daily  commu- 
nion with  Christ  and  with  the  saints  ;  you  might  be 
layins  up  for  another  world,  and  might  look  death  in 
the  face  with  faith  and  confidence,  as  one  that  cannot 
be  conquered  by  it;  you  might  live  as  the  heirs  of 
heaven  on  earth.  All  this,  and  more  than  this,  you  lose 
by  your  delays  ;  all  the  mercies  of  God  are  lost  upcm 
you  ;  your  food  and  raiment,  your  health  and  wealth, 
which  you  set  so  much  by,  all  is  lost,  and  worse  than 
lost,  for  they  turn  to  your  greater  liurt ;  all  our  pains 
with  you,  and  all  the  ordinances  of  God  which  you 
possess,  and  all  your  time  is  lost,  and  worse.  And  do 
you  think  it,  indeed,  a  wise  man's  part  to  live  any 
longer  at  such  a  loss  as  this,  and  that  wilfully  and  for 
nothing  ?  If  you  knew  your  loss,  you  would  not  think  so. 

47.  Nay,  more,  you  are  all  this  while  doing  that 
which  must  be  undone  again,  or  you  will  be  undone 
for  ever.  You  are  running  from  God,  but  you  must 
come  back  again,  or  perish  when  all  is  done.  You  are 
learning  a  hundred  carnal  lessons  and  false  conceits, 
that  must  be  all  unlearned  again ;  you  are  shutting  up 
your  eyes  in  wilful  ignorance,  which  must  be  opened 
ao"ain  :  you  must  learn  the  doctrine  of  Christ,  the  great 
'ftacher  of  the  Church,  if  you  stay  never  so  long,  or 
else  you  would  be  cut  off  from  his  people.  Acts  iii. 
22.  and  vii.  37. 

When  you  have  been  long  accustoming  yourselves 


FIFTY   REASONS.  207 

to  sin,  you  must  unlearn  and  break  all  these  customs 
again.  You  are  hardening  your  hearts  daily,  and  they 
must  again  be  softened.  And  1  must  tell  you,  that 
though  a  little  time  and  labour  may  serve  to  do  mis- 
chief, yet  it  is  not  quickly  undone  again.  You  may 
sooner  set  your  house  on  fire  than  quench  it.  You 
may  sooner  cut  and  wound  your  bodies,  than  heal  them 
again ;  and  sooner  catch  a  cold  or  a  disease  than  cure 
it;  you  may  quickly  do  that  which  must  be  longer 
undoing.  Besides,  the  cure  is  accompanied  with  pain ; 
you  must  take  many  a  bitter  draught,  in  groans  or 
tears  of  godly  sorrow,  for  these  delays  :  the  wounds, 
that  you  are  now  giving  your  souls,  must  smart,  and 
smart  again,  before  they  are  searched  and  healed  to 
the  bottom.  And  what  man  of  wisdom  would  make 
himself  such  work  and  sorrow  ?  Who  would  travel 
on  an  hour  longer,  that  knows  he  ie  out  of  his  way, 
and  must  come  back  again  ?  Would  you  not  think 
him  a  madman  that  would  say,  I  will  go  on  a  little  fur- 
ther, and  then  1  will  turn  back  ? 

48.  And  methinks  if  it  were  but  this,  it  would  terrify 
you  from  your  delays,  that  it  is  likely  to  make  your 
conversion  more  grievous,  if  you  should  have  so  great 
mercy  from  God,  after  all,  to  be  converted.  God  must 
send  either  some  grievous  affliction  to  fire  and  frighten 
you  out  of  your  sins,  or  else  some  terrible  horrors  of 
conscience,  that  should  make  you  groan,  and  groan 
again,  in  the  feelings  of  your  folly.  The  pangs  and 
throes  of  conscience,  in  the  work  of  conversion,  are 
far  more  grievous  in  some  than  in  others.  Some  are 
even  on  the  rack,  and  almost  brought  beside  their  wits, 
and  the  next  step  to  desperafion,  with  horror  of  soul 
and  the  sense  of  the  wrath  of  God ;  so  that  they  lie 
in  doubts  and  complaints  many  a  year  together,  and 
think  that  they  are  even  forsaken  of  God.  And  to 
delay  your  conversion  is  the  way  to  draw  on  either  this 
or  worse. 

49.  Consider,  also,  that  delays *are  contrary  to  the 
very  nature  of  tlie  work,  and  the  nature  of  your  souls 
themselves.  If  indeed  you  ever  mean  to  turn,  it  is  a 
}Sork  of  haste,  and  violence,  and  diligence,  thai  you 


203  FIFTY   REASONS. 

must  needs  set  upon.  You  must "  strive  to  enter  in,  for 
the  gate  is  strait,  the  way  is  narrow  that  leads  to  life, 
and  few  there  be  that  find  it."  "  Many  shall  seek  to 
enter,  and  shall  not  be  able."  "  When  once  the  mas- 
ter of  the  house  is  risen  up,  and  hath  shut  to  the  door, 
and  ye  beo^in  to  stand  without,  and  knock  at  the  door, 
saying,  Lord,  Lord,  open  to  us,  he  shall  answer,  I  know 
you  not  whence  you  are,  depart  from  me,  all  ye  work- 
ers of  iniquity."  It  is  a  race  that  you  are  to  run,  and 
heaven  is  the  prize.  "  And  you  know  that  they  which 
run  in  a  race  run  all,  but  one  receiveth  the  prize ;  and 
therefore  you  must  so  run,  as  that  you  may  win  and 
obtain." 

And  what  is  more  contrary  to  this  than  delay  ?  You 
are  soldiers  in  fight,  and  your  salvation  lieth  in  the 
victory  ;  and  will  you  trifle  in  such  a  case,  when  death 
or  life  is  even  at  hand  ?  You  are  travellers  to  another 
world,  and  will  you  stay  till  the  day  is  almost  past,  be- 
fore you  will  begin  your  journey?  Christianity  is  a 
work  of  that  infinite  consequence,  and  requireth  such 
speedy  and  vigorous  despatch,  that  delay  is  more  un- 
reasonable in  this  than  in  any  thing  in  all  the  world. 

50.  If  all  this  will  not  serve  to  make  you  turn,  let 
me  tell  you,  that  while  you  are  delaying,  your  judgment 
doth  not  delay  ;  and  that  when  it  comes,  these  delays 
will  multiply  your  misery,  and  the  remembrance  of 
them  will  be  your  everlasting  torment.  Whatever  you 
are  thinking  of,  or  whatever  you  are  doing,  your  dread- 
ful doom  is  drawing  on  apace,  and  misery  will  over- 
take you,  before  you  are  aware.  When  you  are  in  the 
alehouse,  little  thinking  of  ruin,  even  then  is  your 
damnation  coming  in  ha^te  ;  when  you  are  drowned 
in  the  pleasures  or  cares  of  the  world,  your  judgment 
is  still  hastening.  You  may  delay,  but  it  will  not  delay. 
It  is  the  saying  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  "  Whose  judgment 
now  of  a  long  time  lingereth  not,  and  their  damnation 
slumbereth  not."  You  may  slumber,  and  that  so  care- 
lessly, that  we  cannot  awake  3''0u,  but  your  damnation 
slumbereth  not,  nor  hath  done  of  a  long  time,  while 
you  thought  it  slumbered  ;  and  when  it  comes,  it  will 
awaken  you.    As  a  man  that  is  in  a  coach  on  the  road, 


FIFTY   REASONS.  209 

or  in  a  boat  on  the  water,  whatever  he  is  speakino-,  or 
thinking,  or  doing,  he  is  still  going  on,  and  hastemno- 
to  his  journey's  end,  or  going  down  the  stream;  so 
whatever  you  think,  or  speak,  or  do,  whether  you 
believe  it,  or  mock  at  it,  whether  you  sleep  or  wake, 
whether  you  remember  it  or  forget  it,  you  are  hasten- 
ing to  destruction,  and  you  are  every  day  a  day  nearer 
tx)  it  than  before.  "  Behold  the  Judge  standeth  before 
the  door."  The  Holy  Ghost  hath  told  you,  "  the  Lord 
is  at  hand."  "  The  day  is  at  hand ;  the  time  is  at 
hand  ;  the  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand."  Rom.  xiii. 
12.  Rev.  xxii.  10.  1  Pet.  iv.  7.  "Behold,  saith  the 
I-ord,  I  eome  quickly,  and  my  reward  is  with  me,  to 
give  to  every  man  according  as  his  work  shall  be." 
And  do  you,  as  it  were,  see  the  Judge  approachino-, 
and  yet  will  you  delay  ?  x-  oj 

And  withal  consider,  that  when  it  comes,  it  will  be 
most  sore  to  such  as  you  ;  and  then  what  thouo-hts  do 
you  think  you  shall  have  of  these  delays?  ^Tou  are 
unable  to  conceive  how  it  will  torment  vour  consciences, 
when  you  see  that  all  your  hopes  are  gone,  to  think,  to 
what  you  have  brought  yourselves  by  your  trifling.  To 
feel  yourselves  in  remediless  misery,  and  remember  how 
long  the  remedy  was  offered  you,  and  you  delayed  to 
use  It  till  it  was  too  late.  To  see  that  you  are  for  ever 
shut  out  of  heaven,  and  remember  that  you  might  have 
had  it  as  well  as  others,  but  you  lost  it  by  delay.  O 
then  it  will  come  with  horror  into  your  mind.  How  often 
was  I  persuaded,  and  told  of  this  ?  How  often  had 
I  inward  motions  to  return  ?  Ht)w  often  did  I  purpose 
to  be  holy,  and  to  give  up  my  heart  and  life  to  God  ? 
I  was  even  ready  to  have  yielded,  but  I  still  delayed, 
and  now  it  is  too  late. 

And  now,  having  laid  you  down  no  less  than  fifty 
movinw  considerations,  if  it  be  possible  to  save  you  from 
these  delays,  I  conclude  with  this  request  to  you,  who- 
ever you  be  that  read  these  lines,  that  you  would  but 
consider  of  all  these  reasons,  and  then  entertain  them  as 
they  deserve.  There  is  not  one  of  them  that  you  are 
able  to  gainsay,  much  less  all  of  them.  If  after  the  read- 
ing of  all  these,  you  can  yet  believe  that  vou  have  reasons 

18* 


810  FIFTY    REASONS. 

to  delay,  your  understandings  are  forsaken  of  God ;  but 
if  you  are  forced  to  confess  that  you  should  not  delay, 
what  will  you  do  then  ?  Will  you  obey  God  and  your 
own  consciences,  or  will  you  not  ?  Will  you  turn  this 
hour  without  delay  ?  Take  heed  of  denying  it,  lest  you 
have  never  such  a  motion  more.  You  know  not  but 
God,  who  calls  you  to  it,  may  be  resolved  that  it  should 
fee  now  or  never.  I  do  beseech  you,  yea,  as  his  mes- 
senger, I  charge  you  in  his  name,  that  you  delay  not  an 
hour  longer,  but  presently  be  resolved,  and  make  an 
unchangeable  covenant  with  God  ;  and,  as  ever  you 
would  have  favour  in  that  day  of  your  distress,  delay 
not  now  to  accept  his  favour  in  the  day  of  your  visita- 
tion. 

O  what  a  blessed  family  were  that,  who  upon  the 
reading  of  this,  would  presently  say,  We  have  done 
exceeding  foolishly  in  delaying  so  great  a  matter  so  long ; 
let  us  agree  together  to  give  up  ourselves  to  God  with- 
out any  more  delay.  This  shall  be  the  day  ;  we  will 
stay  no  longer.  The  flesh,  and  the  world,  and  the 
devil,  have  had  too  much  already.  It  is  a  wonder  of 
patience  that  hath  borne  with  us  so  long ;  we  will 
abuse  the  patience  of  God  no  longer,  but  begin  to  be 
absolutely  his  this  day.  If  this  may  be  the  effect  ot 
these  exhortations,  you  shall  have  the  everlasting  bless 
ing;  but  if  still  you  delay,  I  hope  I  am  free  from  the 
guilt  of  your  blood. 


EXTRACTS 

FROM 

BAXTER'S  DYING  THOUGHTS. 


The  reader  has  witnessed  hi  the  preceding  pages  the  fervent  zeal 
and  deep  anxiety  of  the  pious  author  in  urging  on  the  impenitent 
the  necessity  of  immediately  turning  to  God  and  repairing  to  the 
Saviour,  in  order  to  escape  eternal  death.  In  the  following  se- 
lections are  exhibited  some  of  the  peaceful  and  happy  reflections 
which  the  author  indulged,  in  relation  to  his  own  prospects  in  the 
near  view  of  death. 

The  sanctifying  operations  of  the  Spirit  of  God  are 
the  earnest  of  heaven,  and  tlie  sure  prognostic  of  our 
immortal  happiness.  It  is  "  a  change  of  grand  impor- 
tance" to  man,  to  be  renewed  in  his  mind,  his  will,  and 
life.  It  repairs  his  depraved  faculties.  It  causes  man 
to  live  as  man,  who  was  degenerated  to  a  life  too  much 
like  the  brutes.  Men  are  "  slaves  to  sin,  till  Christ 
makes  them  free."  "  Where  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  is, 
there  is  liberty."  If  "  the  love  of  God  shed  abroad  on 
our  hearts,"  be  not  our  excellence,  health,  and  beauty, 
what  is  ?  "  That  which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  and 
that  which  is  born  of  the  spirit  is  spirit."  Without 
Christ,  and  his  Spirit,  we  can  do  nothing.  Our  dead 
notions,  and  reason,  though  we  see  the  truth,  have  not 
power  to  overcome  temptations,  nor  raise  up  man's 
soul  to  its  original  and  end,  nor  possess  us  with  the  love 
and  joyful  hopes  of  future  blessedness.  It  were  better 
for  us  to  have  no  souls,  than  have  our  souls  void  of  the 
Spirit  of  God.  Heaven  is  the  design  and  end  of  this  im 
portant  change.  What  is  our  knowledge  and  faith, 
but  to  know  and  believe  that  heaven  consists  in  the  glory 
and  love  of  God  there  manifested,  and  that  it  was  pur- 


212  DYING    THOUGHTS. 

chased  by  Christ,  and  given  by  his  covenant  ?  What 
is  our  hope,  but  "  the  hope  of  glory,"  which  we  through 
the  Spirit  wait  for?  What  is  our  love,  but  a  desire  of 
communion  with  the  blessed  God,  begun  here,  and  per- 
fected hereafter  ?  What  Christ  teaches  and  commands, 
he  works  in  us  by  his  Spirit.  He  sends  not  his  Spirit 
to  make  men  craftier  than  others  for  this  world,  but 
"  wiser  to  salvation,"  and  more  holy  and  heavenly. 
"  The  children  of  this  world  are  in  their  generation 
wiser  than  the  children  of  light."  Heavenly  minded- 
ness  is  the  special  work  of  the  Spirit.  In  producing 
this  change,  the  Spirit  overcomes  all  opposition  from  the 
'loorld,  the  Jlesh,  and  the  devil.  Christ  first  overcame 
the  world,  and  teaches  and  causes  us  to  overcome  it, 
even  its  flatteries,  and  its  frowns.  "  Our  faith  is  our 
vietorj^"  Christ  promised  his  Spirit  to  all  true  be- 
lievers, to  be  in  them  as  his  advocate,  agent,  seal,  and 
mark  ;  and  indeed,  the  Spirit  here,  and  heaven  here- 
after, are  the  chief  of  all  his  promises.  That  this  Spirit 
is  given  to  all  true  believers,  is  evident  by  the  effects  of  it. 
They  have  ends,  affections,  and  hves,  different  from  the 
rest  of  mankind.  They  live  upon  the  hopes  of  a  better 
life,  and  their  heavenly  interest  o venules  all  the  oppo- 
site interests  of  this  world :  in  order  to  which  they  live 
under  the  conduct  of  divine  authority;  and  toobey 
and  please  God  is  the  great  business  of  their  lives.  Tlie 
men  of  the  world  discern  this  difference,  and  therefore 
hate  and  oppose  them,  because  they  find  themselves 
condemned  by  their  heavenly  temper  and  conversation. 
Believers  are  conscious  of  this  difference  ;  for  they  de- 
sire to  be  better,  and  to  trust  and  love  God  more,  and 
to  have  more  of  the  heavenly  life  and  comforts;  and 
when  their  infirmities  make  them  doubt  of  their  own 
sincerity,  they  would  not  change  their  governor,  rule, 
or  hopes,  for  all  the  world  ;  and  it  is  never  so  well  and 
pleasant  with  them,  as  when  they  can  trust  and  love 
God  most ;  and  in  their  worst  and  weakest  condition 
they  would  fain  be  perfect.  Indeed,  whatever  real 
goodness  is  found  among  men,  it  is  given  by  the  same 
fepirit  of  Christ;  but  it  is  notorious,  that  in  heavenly 
minded ness  and  virtue,  no  part  of  the  world  is  com- 


DYING   THOUGHTS.  213 

parable  to  serious  Christians.  This  Spirit,  Clirist  also 
expressly  promised,  as  the  means  and  pledge,  the  first 
fruits  and  earnest  of  the  heavenly  glory  ;  and,  therefore, 
it  is  a  certain  proof  that  we  shall  have  such  a  glory! 
He  that  gives  us  a  spiritual  change,  which  in  its  nature 
and  tendency  is  heavenly  ;  he  that  sets  our  hopes  and 
hearts  on  heaven,  and  turns  the  endeavours  of  our  lives 
towards  future  blessedness,  and  promised  this  prepara- 
tory grace  as  the  earnest  of  that  felicity,  may  well  be 
trusted  to  perform  his  word  in  our  complete  eternal 
glory. 

"  And   now,  O  my  soul !  why  shouldst  thou   draw 
back,   as   if  the   matter   was   doubtful?     Is  not   thy 
foundation  firm  ?     Is  not  the  way  of  life,  through  the 
valley  of  death,  made  safe  by  him  that  conquered  death  ? 
Art  thou  not  yet  delivered  from  the  bondage  of  thy 
fears  ?     Hast  thou  not  long  ago  found  in  thee  the  mo- 
tions and  effectual  operations  of  this  Spirit  ?  and  is  he 
not  still  residing  and  working  in  thee,  as  the  affent  and 
witness  of  Christ  ?     If  not,  whence  are  thy  aspirations 
after  God,  thy  desires  to  be  nearer  to  his  glory,  to  know 
him  and  love  him  more?     Whence  came  all  the  pleas- 
ure thou  hast  had  in  his  sacred  truth,  and  ways,  and 
service  ?     Who  subdued  for  thee  thy  foUy,  pride,  and 
vain  desires?     Who  made  it  thy  choice  to  sit  at  the 
feet  of  Jesus,  and  hear  his  word,  as  the  better  part,  and 
count  the  honours  and  preferments  of  the  world  but 
dross  ?     Who  breathed  in  thee  all  those  requests  thou 
hast  sent  up  to  God  ?     Remember  what  thou  wast  in 
the  hour  of  temptation,  how  small  a  matter  has  drawn 
thee  to  sin.    Forget  not  the  days  of  thy  youthful  vanity. 
Overlook  not  the  case  of  thy  sinful  neighbours,  who,  in 
the  midst  of  light,  still  live  in  darkness,  and  hear  not  the 
loudest  calls  of  God.     Is  it  no  work  of  Christ's  Spirit 
that  has  made  thee  to  differ?     Thou  hast  nothing  to 
boast  of,  and  much  to  be  humbled,  and  also  to  be  thank- 
ful for.     Thy   holy  desires  are,   alas!  too  weak;  but 
they  are  holy.     Thy  love  has  been  too  cold  ;  but  it  is 
the  most  holy  God  whom  thou  hast  loved.     Thy  hopes 
have  been  too  low ;  but  thou  hast  hoped  in  God,  and 
for  his  heavenly  glory.     Thy  prayers  have  been  too 


214  DYING    THOUGHTS. 

dull  and  interrupted;  but  thou  hast  prayed  for  holiness 
and  heaven.  Thy  labours  have  been  too  slothful;  but 
thou  hast  laboured  for  God  and  Christ,  and  the  good  of 
mankind.  Though  thy  motion  was  too  weak  and 
slow,  it  has  been  Godward,  and  therefore  it  is  from 
God.  O  bless  the  Lord,  not  only  for  ^ving  thee  his 
word,  and  sealing  it  with  miracles,  but  also  for  fre- 
quently and  remarkably  fulfilling  his  promises,  in  the 
answer  of  thy  prayers,  and  in  great  deliverance  of  thy- 
self and  of  many  others;  and  that  he  has  by  regenera- 
tion been  preparing  thee  for  the  light  of  glory !  And 
wilt  thou  yet  doubt  and  fear,  against  all  this  evidence, 
experience  and  foretaste  ?" 

Why  should  it  seem  a  difficult  question,  How  my  soul 
m  tij  willingly  leave  this  world,  and  go  to  Christ  in  peace  ? 
The  same  grace  which  regenerated  me,  must  bring  me 
to  my  desired  end.  "  Believe  and  trust  thy  Father, 
thy  Saviour,  and  thy  comforter.  Hope  for  the  joyful 
entertainments  of  the  promised  blessedness.  And  long 
by  love  for  nearer  divine  union  and  communion.  Thus, 
0  my  soul,  mayst  thou  depart  in  peace." 

How  clearly  does  reason  command  me  to  trust  him, 
absolutely  and  implicitly  to  trust  him,  and  to  distrust 
myself!  He  is  essential,  infinite  perfection,  wisdom, 
psnver,  and  love.  There  is  nothing  to  be  trusted  in  any 
creature,  but  God  working  in  it,  or  by  it.  I  am  alto- 
fjether  his  own,  by  right,  by  devotion,  and  by  consent. 
He  is  the  giver  of  all  good  to  every  creature,  as  freely 
as  the  sun  gives  its  light,  and  shall  we  not  trust  the 
sun  to  shine  ?  He  is  my  Father,  and  has  taken  me 
into  his  family,  and  shall  I  not  trust  my  heavenly 
Father?  He  has  given  me  his  Son,  as  the  greatest 
pledge  of  his  love,  and  "  shall  he  not  with  him  also 
freely  give  me  all  things  ?"  His  Son  purposely  came 
to  reveal  his  Father's  unspeakable  love,  and  shall  I  not 
trust  him  who  has  proclaimed  his  love  by  such  a  mes- 
senger from  heaven?  He  has  given  me  the  spirit  of 
his  Son,  even  the  spirit  of  adoption,  the  witness,  pledge, 
and  earnest  of  heaven,  the  seal  of  God  upon  me,  "  holi- 
ness to  the  Lord,"  and  shall  I  not  believe  iiis  love,  and 
trust  him  ?    He  has  made  me  a  roember  of  his  Son, 


DYING    THOUGHTS.  215 

and  will  he  not  take  care  of  me,  and  is  not  Christ  to  be 
trusted  with  his  members  ?  1  am  his  interest,  and  the 
interest  of  his  Son,  freely  beloved,  and  dearly  bought, 
and  may  I  not  trust  him  with  this  treasure?  He  lias 
made  me  the  care  of  angels,  who  "  rejoiced  at  my  re- 
pentance," and  shall  they  lose  their  joy,  or  ministration  ? 
He  is  in  covenant  with  me,  and  has  "given  me  many 
great  and  precious  promises,"  and  can  he  be  unfaithful? 
My  Saviour  is  the  forerunner,  who  has  entered  into  the 
holiest,  and  is  there  interceding  for  me,  having  first 
conquered  death  to  assure  us  of  a  future  life,  and  as- 
cended into  heaven,  to  show  us  whither  we  must  as- 
cend, and  having  "  said  to  his  brethren,  I  ascend  to  my 
Father  and  your  Father,  to  my  God  and  your  God ;'' 
and,  shall  I  not  follow  him  through  death,  and  trust 
such  a  guide  and  captain  of  my  salvation?  He  is  there 
to  "  prepare  a  place  for  me,  and  will  receive  me  unto 
himself,"  and  may  I  not  confidently  expect  it?  He 
t&ld  a  malefactor  on  the  cross,  "  to-day  shalt  thou  be 
with  me  in  paradise,"  to  show  believing  sinners  what 
they  may  expect.  His  apostles  and  other  saints  have 
served  him  on  earth  with  all  these  expectations.  "  The 
spirits  of  just  men  made  perfect,"  are  now  possessing 
what  I  hope  for,  and  I  am  a  "  follower  of  them,  who, 
through  faith  and  patience,  inherit  the  promised"  fe- 
licity ;  and  may  I  not  trust  him  to  save  me,  who  has 
already  saved  milHons? 

What  abundant  experience  have  I  had  of  God's 
fidelity  and  love,  and  after  all  shall  I  not  trust  him  r 
His  undeserved  mercy  gave  me  being,  chose  my  pa- 
rents, gave  them  affectionate  desires  for  my  real  good, 
taught  them  to  instruct  me  early  in  his  word,  and  edu- 
cate me  in  his  fear,  made  my  habitation  and  compan- 
ions suitable,  endowed  me  with  a  teachable  disposition, 
put  excellent  books  into  my  hands,  and  placed  me  un- 
der wise  and  faithful  schoolmasters  and  ministers. 
His  mercy  fixed  me  in  the  best  of  lands,  and  in  the  best 
age  that  land  had  seen.  His  mercy  early  destroyed  in 
me  all  great  expectations  from  the  world,  taught  me  to 
bear  the  yoke  from  my  youth,  caused  me  rather  to 
groan  under  my  infirmities,  than  struggle  with  power= 


210  '       DYING    THOUGHTS. 

ful  lusts,  and  chastened  me  betimes,  hut  did  not  give 
me  over  unto  death.  Ever  since  I  was  at  the  age  of 
nineteen,  great  mercy  has  trained  me  up  in  the  school 
of  affliction,  to  keep  my  sluggish  soul  awake  in  the 
constant  expectations  of  my  change,  to  kill  my  proud 
and  worldly  thoughts,  and  to  direct  ail  ray  studies  to 
things  the  most  necessary.  How  has  a  life  of  constant 
but  gentle  chastisement  urged  me  to  "  make  my  calling 
and  election  sure,"  and  to  prepare  my  accounts,  as  one 
that  must  quickly  give  them  up  to  God  ?  The  face  of 
death,  and  nearness  of  eternity,  convinced  me  what 
books  to  read,  what  studies  to  prosecute,  what  com- 
panions to  choose,  drove  me  early  into  the  vineyard  of 
the  Lord,  and  taught  me  to  preach  as  a  dying  man  to 
dying  men.  It  was  divine  love  and  mercy  which  made 
sacred  truth  so  pleasant  to  me,  that  my  hfe  under  all 
my  infirmities,  has  been  almost  a  constant  recreation. 
How  far  beyond  my  expectations  has  a  merciful  God 
encouraged  me  in  his  sacred  work,  choosing  every 
place  of  my  ministry  and  abode  to  this  day,  without  my 
own  seeking,  and  never  sending  me  to  labour  in  vain  ! 
How  many  are  gone  to  heaven  and  how  many  are  in 
the  way,  through  a  divine  blessing  on  the  word  which 
in  weakness  I  delivered  I  Many  good  Christians  are 
glad  of  now  and  then  an  hour  to  meditate  on  God's 
word,  and  refresh  themselves  in  his  holy  worship,  but 
God  has  allowed  and  called  me  to  make  it  the  constant 
business  of  my  life.  In  my  library,  I  have  profitably 
and  pleasantly  dwelt  among  the  shining  hghts,  with 
which  the  learned,  wise,  and  holy  men  of  all  ages,  have 
illuminated  the  world.  How  many  comfortable  hours 
have  I  had  in  the  society  of  living  saints,  and  in  the  love 
of  faithful  friends.  How  many  joyful  days  in  solemn 
worshipping  assemblies,  where  the  Spirit  of  Christ  has 
been  manifestly  present,  both  with  ministers  and  peo- 
ple ! 

"  To  thee,  O  Lord,  as  to  a  faithful  Creator,  I  commit 
my  soul.  I  know  that  thou  art  '  the  faithful  God,  which 
keepeth  covenant  and  mercy  with  them  that  love  thee, 
and  keep  thy  commandments.  Thou  art  faithful,  who 
hast  called  me  to  the  fellowship  of  thy  Son  Jesus  Christ 


DTING   THOUGHTS.  217 

our  Lord.'  Thy  faithfulness  has  saved  me  from  temp- 
tation, and  kept  me  from  prevailing  evil,  and  will '  pre- 
serve my  whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body,  unto  the 
coming  of  Christ.'  It  is  '  in  faithfulness  thou  has  afflict- 
ed me ;'  and  shall  I  not  trust  thee  to  save  me  ?  '  It  is 
thy  faithful  saying,  that  thy  elect  shall  obtain  the  sal- 
vation which  is  in  Christ  Jesus,  with  eternal  glory ; 
for  if  we  be  dead  with  him,  we  shall  also  live  with  him ; 
if  we  suffer,  we  shall  also  reign  with  him.'    To  thee, 

0  my  Saviour,  I  commit  my  soul ;  it  is  thine  by  redemp- 
tion, thine  by  covenant;  it  is  sealed  by  thy  Spirit,  and 
thou  hast  promised  not  to  lose  it.  Thou  wast  '  made 
like  unto  thy  brethren,  that  thou  mightestbe  a  merciful 
and  faithful  high  priest  in  things  pertaining  to  God,  to 
make  reconciliation  for  our  sins.  By  thy  blood  we  have 
boldness  to  enter  into  the  holiest,  by  a  new  and  living  way 
consecrated  for  us.'  Cause  me  to '  draw  near  with  a  true 
heart,  in  full  assurance  of  faith.'  Thy  name  is  faithful 
and  true.  True  and  faithful  are  all  thy  promises.  Thou 
hast  promised  *  rest  to  weary  souls  that  come  to  thee.' 

1  am  weary  of  suffering,  sin,  and  flesh  ;  weary  of  my 
darkness,  dulness,  and  distance.  Whither  should  I 
look  for  rest,  but  to  my  heavenly  Father  ?  I  am  but  a 
*  bruised  reed,'  but  thou  *  wilt  not  break'  me.  I  am 
out  '  smoking  flax,'  but  thou  '  wilt  not  quench'  what 
thy  grace  hath  kindled.  Thou,  in  whose  name  the 
nations  trust,  '  wilt  bring  forth  judgment  unto  victory. 
The  Lord  redeemeth  the  souls  of  his  servants,  and 
none  of  them  that  trust  in  him  shall  be  desolate.  I  will 
wait  on  thy  name,  for  it  is  good ;  I  trust  in  the  mercy 
of  God  for  ever  and  ever.  The  Lord  is  good,  a  strong- 
hold in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  he  knoweth  them  that 
trust  in  him.  Sinful  fear  brings  a  snare,  but  whoso 
putteth  his  trust  in  the  Lord  shall  be  safe.  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  maketh  the  Lord  his  trust.  Thou  art  my 
hope,  O  Lord  God,  thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth. 
By  thee  have  I  been  holden  up  from  the  womb,  my 
praise  shall  be  continually  of  thee.  Mine  eyes  are  unto 
thee,  O  God,  the  Lord !  in  thee  is  my  trust,  leave  not 
my  soul  destitute.  I  had  fainted,  unless  I  had  believed 
to  see  the  goodness  of  the  Lord  in  the  land  of  the  liv- 

19 


218  DYING   THOUGHTS 

ing,'  even  where  they  that  live  shall  die  no  more."  The 
sun  may  cease  to  shine  on  man,  and  the  earth  to  bear 
us  ;  but  God  will  never  cease  to  be  faithful  to  his  pro- 
mises. Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  commanded  me 
so  safe  and  quieting  a  duty,  as  to  trust  in  him,  and 
cast  all  my  cares  upon  him,  who  has  promised  to  care 
for  me ! 

I  will  hope  for  the  salvation  of  God.  Hope  is  the 
ease,  yea  the  Ufe  of  our  hearts,  which  would  otherwise 
break,  and  even  die,  within  us.  Despair  is  no  small 
part  of  hell.  God  cherishes  hope,  as  he  is  the  lover  of 
souls.  Satan,  our  enemy,  cherishes  despair,  when  his 
more  usual  way  of  presumption  fails.  Hope  anticipates 
salvation,  as  fear  does  evil.  It  is  the  hypocrite's  hope 
that  perishes  ;  and  all  who  hope  for  durable  happiness 
on  earth,  must  be  deceived.  But  "  happy  is  he  that 
hath  the  God  of  Jacob  for  his  help,  whose  hope  is  in  the 
Lord  his  God,  which  made  heaven  and  earth,  which 
keepeth  truth  for  ever.  Wo  to  me,  if  in  this  life  only 
I  had  hope.  But  the  righteous  hath  hope  in  his  death. 
And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed.  Blessed  is  the  man 
that  trusteth  in  the  Lord,  and  whose  hope  the  Lord  js. 
Lay  hold,  then,  O  my  soul,  upon  the  hope  set  before 
thee;  it  is  thy  sure  and  steadfast  anchor,  without 
which  thou  wilt  be  as  a  shipwrecked  vessel.  Thy 
foundation  is  sure,  even  God  himself.  Our  faith  and 
hope  are  both  in  God.  Christ,  who  dwells  in  our  hearts 
by  faith,  is  in  us  the  hope  of  glory.  By  this  hope,  bet- 
ter than  the  law  of  Moses  could  bring,  we  draw  nigh 
unto  God.  We  hope  for  that  we  see  not,  and  with 
patience  wait  for  it.  We  are  saved  by  hope."  It  is 
an  encouraging  grace,  it  excites  our  diligence,  and 
helps  to  full  assurance  unto  the  end.  It  is  a  desirinfr 
grace,  and  is  earnest  to  obtain  the  glory  hoped  for.  ft 
is  a  comforting  grace,  for  "  the  God  of  hope  fills  us 
with  all  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  that  we  may 
abound  in  hope  through  the  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

God  needs  not  flatter  such  worms  as  we  are,  nor 
promise  us  what  he  never  means  to  perform.  He  has 
laid  the  rudiments  of  our  hope  in  a  nature  capable  of 
desiring,  seeking,  and  thinking  of  another  life.   He  has 


DYING    THOUGHTS.  219 

called  me  by  grace  to  actual  desires  and  endeavours, 
and  has  vouchsafed  some  foretastes.  I  look  for  no 
heaven,  but  the  perfection  of  divine  life,  light,  and  love 
in  endless  glory,  with  Christ  and  his  saints ;  and  this 
he  has  already  begun  in  me.  And  shall  I  not  boldly 
hope,  when  I  have  capacity,  the  promise,  and  the 
earnest  and  foretaste?  Is  it  not  God  himself  that  caused 
me  to  hope  ?  Was  not  nature,  promise,  and  grace  from 
him?  And  can  a  soul  miscarry  and  be  deceived, 
that  departs  hence  in  a  hope  of  God's  own  produc- 
ing and  encouraging  ?  "  Lord,  I  have  lived  in  hope, 
I  have  prayed,  laboured,  suffered,  and  waited  in 
hope,  and  by  thy  grace  I  will  die  in  hope ;  and  is  not 
this  according  to  thy  word  and  will?  And  wilt 
thou  cast  away  a  soul  that  hopes  in  thee,  by  thine 
own  command  and  operation?"  Had  wealth,  and 
honour,  and  continuance  on  earth,  or  the  favour  of 
man,  been  my  reward  and  hope,  my  hope  and  I  had 
died  together.  Were  this  our  best,  how  vain  were 
man.  But  the  Lord  liveth,  and  my  Redeemer  is  glori- 
fied, and  intercedes  for  me ;  and  the  same  Spirit  is  in 
heaven,  who  is  in  my  heart,  as  the  same  sun  is  in  the 
firmament  and  in  my  habitation.  The  promise  is  sure 
to  all  Christ's  seed ;  for  millions  are  now  in  heaven, 
who  once  lived  and  died  in  hope ;  they  were  sinners 
once,  as  I  now  am ;  they  had  no  other  Saviour,  Sanc- 
tifier,  or  promise,  than  I  now  have.  "  Confessing  that 
they  were  strangers  and  pilgrims  on  the  earth,  they 
desired  a  better  country,  that  is,  a  heavenly,  where  they 
now  are.  And  shall  I  not  follow  them  in  hope,  who 
have  sped  so  well  ?  Then,  O  my  soul,  hope  unto  the 
end.  Hope  in  the  Lord,  from  henceforth  and  for  ever. 
I  will  hope  continually,  and  will  yet  praise  him  more 
and  more.  My  mouth  shall  show  forth  his  righteous- 
ness and  salvation.  The  Lord  is  at  my  right  hand,  I 
shall  not  be  moved.  Therefore  my  heart  is  glad,  and 
my  glory  rejoiceth,  my  flesh  also  shall  rest  in  hope. 
God  hath  showed  me  the  path  of  life  ;  in  his  presence 
is  fulness  of  joy,  at  his  right  hand  there  are  pleasures 
for  evermore." 


930 


DYING   THOUGHTS. 


Lord,  let  me  come  to  thee  in  the  confidence  of  thy 
love.  I  long  to  be  nearer,  in  the  clearer  sight,  the 
mller  sense,  and  more  joyful  exercise  of  love  for  ever ! 
Father,  into  thy  hand  I  commend  my  Spirit !  Lord 
Jesus,  receive  my  spirit !  dmen. 


BOOKS 

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THE  ATONEMENT  AND  INTERCESSION  OF 
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